


Losing Track (of What We’re Fighting For)

by ameanstoanendor



Series: Mars [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, CT-7567 | Rex Needs a Hug, Gen, Hurt CT-7567 | Rex, Hurt/Comfort, Not A Fix-It, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Role Reversal, but some things are better, will update these tags as the story progresses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28389381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ameanstoanendor/pseuds/ameanstoanendor
Summary: What if Rex had been caught in the explosion at the Citadel and captured by the Techno Union instead of Echo, and Echo was promoted to captain of the 501st afterwards? This is an exploration of what changes and what stays the same because of that.This installment spans from Rex’s rescue to Order 66.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: Mars [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2079195
Comments: 87
Kudos: 103





	1. Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rex is rescued from the Techno Union and has a conversation with Echo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This is my first fic on AO3 (and the first fic I’ve written since I was about 13) and I’m really excited to share it with all of you. If any of the formatting is weird, you’ll have to forgive me— I’m doing all of this on my phone. (Yes, the title and series name were inspired by the song Mars by Sleeping at Last)

The first thing that CT-7567 was aware of was  _ pain_. Nowadays, that was all he ever seemed to be aware of, so this wasn’t unusual to him. What  was unusual to him, as he gathered his senses, was the amount of warmth he felt. The pod that he usually occupied was freezing, so heat was a sensation he wasn’t exactly accustomed to anymore. This prompted him to crack his eyes open. 

It was all blurry, at first, but CT-7567 thoughthe could see a clone in blue and white armor in front of him.  _ Ah_, he thought,  _ This must be one of my dreams that I get every so often, when they aren't running the algorithm and tearing into my mind.  _

Speaking of that, he didn’t have much time to think on it before the algorithm was turned on again, and he was forced to give away all of the Republic's secrets that he held within his mind. 

Once they stopped ripping into his mind against his will, CT-7567 was shocked to see that his clone hallucination was still standing by him. This didn’t normally happen when he hallucinated like this; they normally vanished once the algorithm turned on and didn’t come back for quite some time. He felt a hand against his too-thin, too-pale shoulder. It was... it was warm, a sensation that he had long forgotten about. 

He decided that he should focus more on this hallucination.

"-tain? Rex? Can you hear me?" The mirage in front of him asked. Rex. That’s his name. He'd almost forgotten that he'd had a name, rather than a number. 

Rex squinted at the clone's armor. The blue handprint on the right chest sparked an old memory, of a  _ warmer _ time, on an old moon with giant eels that bleed blue, of a batch of brave rookies.

"Echo?" Rex asked, recognition dawning upon his features. The clone,  _ Echo, _sighed in relief.

"Glad to hear your voice, Captain," Echo said, a slight,  _ warm _ smile on his face. 

Rex had many questions. He wasn’t exactly aware of where he was at that moment. Hadn't he just been at the Citadel? He voiced his concerns, and realized that this may not have been the best question, considering the look of faint sadness that flickered across Echo's face for a few seconds. Rex regathered his thoughts, taking in his surroundings as Echo promised to get him unplugged from that pod soon. Good riddance, Rex thought.

More figures in dark armor appeared just beyond Echo, and with them was General Skywalker. Rex was suddenly aware of the fact that he was not actually wearing any clothing, but then he remembered that he was mostly machine, anyways, so there wasn’t much to be embarrassed about. 

He attempted to maintain his composure in front of them all as the fog in his mind slowly lifted. He really hoped that this wasn’t a hallucination, and realized that he must have said that out loud when he saw General Skywalker and Echo exchange looks. Rex apologized, then, as it was unbecoming for a captain to behave like that. General Skywalker chuckled warmly and told him not to worry about it.

Finally, someone behind Echo called out that that it was safe to unplug him. As soon as the cords tying him to that  machine were off, the fog in Rex's mind dissipated. Warmth flooded through him. He realized that the figures in dark armor  must be clones of some sort, although two of them were far too skinny and one of them was far too  big . He also realized that they were running out of time to get out of this horrible place.

"There's a vent right above us that I can hack into," Rex said, using Echo for support as he stood up, still too weak to do so on his own. After the vent was open, the huge clone Rex had seen beyond General Skywalker tossed all of them up into it, and Rex led them out of the facility. 

He leaned on Echo for most of that walk, although the adrenaline rush that he normally got on missions was making it easier for him to support himself. He noticed that a 5 had been painted on Echo’s right shoulder plate. Rex knew all too well what that meant and wondered how Fives had died. However, he remained silent and did not comment on it. Deaths are to be expected in war, anyways, and while Rex didn’t know exactly how long he’d been the Techno Union’s over-glorified science experiment, he knew that it had been at least a couple of months. A lot could happen in that time, especially in a war.

Naturally, there was an eventful run-in with some droids, and then they had to defend some locals from an attack. Rex knew that he looked like a sorry sight, but the native leader really didn’t need to recoil like  _that_ upon seeing him.

Regardless, they won the day, and Rex was  _finally_ able to get off of Skako Minor, the force-forsaken planet. 

His rescuers were introduced to him as the Bad Batch, or Clone Force 99. As they boarded their ship, the adrenaline rush started to wear off. Rex was exhausted and everything ached terribly, although he didn’t make any mention of those two facts. They gave him some loose clothing, which he very gratefully put on in a different room. He really didn’t have enough energy to return to the main cockpit, so he sat down, settling against the wall of the room he was in.

The door to the room opened, and Echo came over and draped a blanket across him. Rex instinctively wrapped it around himself as best as he could with one hand, pointedly ignoring the fact that he really only needed it for his upper half. He really appreciated the fact that none of his rescuers had even so much as mentioned the fact that he was missing three quarters of his limbs and that he was now mostly metal, and man, was that metal  cold .

The rest of the clones and General Skywalker stayed in the cockpit of the ship, leaving the two of them alone. Echo was typing away at a datapad, which made Rex smirk.

Echo caught sight of the smirk and smiled, “What, captain?”

“You’re still always using a datapad, eh? Some things never change, I suppose,” Rex said, giving him a half smile. Echo chuckled, although this time the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Rex was sure it would have been a mirror of his own halfhearted smile if he wasn’t horribly pale and too thin for his own good. It was a miracle he hadn’t starved to death in that facility. He really didn’t think that the ‘loose’ clothing that they had given him earlier was actually supposed to be as loose as it was, after all.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Echo said with a sigh, leaning back against his seat. He looked like he wanted to say a lot of things, but thought better of actually saying them.

Rex regarded him for a few moments before smiling an actual smile. He was not as out of it as Echo probably thought he was; he was as observant as ever. There was a reason Echo was the one leading this mission, and Rex knew it was because Echo had a title with real authority now (or, as real authority as a clone could have).

“Alright then,  _captain_ , how’s my battalion doing?” Rex asked him. Echo’s eyes widened and he looked at Rex sheepishly.

“Who told you?” Echo asked hurriedly, “I’m sorry about that by the way, but we all thought you were— well, I’m sure you know, but you can have the title back if you want. I’d be more than happy to—“

“Echo, relax. I figured it out on my own. I knew that someone would had to have taken over for me and there’s no one else that I would’ve chosen,” Rex said. Echo looked relieved and sighed contentedly.

“The 501st— well, we’ve been through some... some really tough battles, and I don’t know that I handled them as well as you might have, but for the most part, we’re pretty well off,” Echo said, answering Rex’s earlier question, “It could be worse, I guess. I can’t really complain.”

Rex pinned him down with a look and arched an eyebrow, “You know, just because it ‘could be worse’ doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt any less. That doesn’t make what you went through any less painful.”

Echo huffed a humorless laugh, “Of course you’d be the one to say that, after going through over a year of hell on Skako Minor. What happened to us— that’s nothing compared to what they did to you.”

“I had my own personal hell, sure,” Rex admitted. Evidently, it was not what Echo expected him to say because he turned his head sharply towards Rex and maintained eye contact with him. 

Rex continued, “But you and the 501st must have went through hell, too— just a different type. Just because the trauma may be different— that doesn’t make it any less valid to be hurting. People cope in different ways, even clones. We’re all different. Don’t feel like you have to walk on eggshells around me just because of what the Techno Union did to me. I can tell that you’ve all been hurt, too, and it wouldn’t be right to ignore that just because you think I might have went through something ‘worse.’”

Echo nodded, swallowing hard and looking away, “You always knew what to say, Captain.” 

Rex smirked and chuckled, “Well, Cody’s the one who taught me that,” he hesitated and continued, “Speaking of Cody... is he...”

“He’s alive, don’t worry. The only reason he isn’t here right now is because he got injured recently, but he should be better by the time we get back to Anaxes,” Echo told him. Rex sighed in relief and nodded, curling into his blanket a bit more.

They lapsed into silence after that. Echo picked up his datapad again and began typing rapidly in it. Rex pressed the back of his head against the wall in an attempt to stem the oncoming headache he could feel while also ignoring the metal implants in his skull. He was trying  _ really _ hard not to think about all that had been done to him, but when he felt himself drifting off to sleep, all he could feel were the needles that they constantly drove into him, and the cold metal against his skin as they literally cut into his brain.

Rex shook himself awake. He turned to look at Echo, who quickly turned his attention back towards his datapad, pretending that he hadn’t been looking at Rex in concern. Rex schooled his expression and pretended to be very interested in the bolts that held the ship together.

“You know, Captain,” Echo began, setting his datapad aside for a moment, “You don’t have to pretend like it’s all okay, either. No one’s expecting you to be alright after something like that. What you told me earlier applies to you, too. Everyone copes differently, I know, but don’t feel like you have to act strong just because you’re a captain.” 

Rex sent him a mock glare, “Throwing my own words back at me, trooper?”

“Hey, Cody’s words, not yours,” Echo reminded him, holding his hands up as though he was conceding in an argument, “We’ll arrive at the base in a few minutes. You’re going straight to the medbay so that Kix can look over you. The man’s going to have a field day with you.”

“Or I’m going to give him another headache that he doesn’t need,” Rex grumbled, crossing his arms— arm— across his chest habitually.

Echo laughed and picked up his datapad again, grinning to himself. It was a look that Rex recognized all too well; it meant that Echo was up to no good. 

“What are you planning, Echo?” 

“Me? Nothing,” Echo said far too quickly. 

Rex rose an eyebrow, unimpressed, “Echo, we all know that you’re a terrible liar.” 

Echo actually  giggled , but didn’t say anything else. Rex chuckled, too, and the two settled into a comfortable silence once again.

The ship landed soon thereafter. The Bad Batch disembarked first, but Rex didn’t really mind, seeing as he was pretty sore and standing was a chore in and of itself. Echo put his helmet on and offered his arm. Rex sighed and hooked his good arm around Echo’s elbow, trying his best to not get frustrated with how weak he was. 

Echo led him down the ship’s ramp, General Skywalker following behind them. After he adjusted to how bright it was outside (and wasn’t  that going to take some getting used to), Rex looked out at the base the GAR had set up. The sight he saw nearly brought him to tears.

There were two lines of clone troopers with yellow, orange, and blue armor standing at attention, facing inwards with a walkway spread out between them. The Bad Batch had even joined them, standing at attention at the front of the two lines. Rex froze for a moment, but Echo squeezed his arm and prompted him to move on. 

Clones would snap into a salute as the pair walked past them in the walkway. Rex subconsciously held himself up higher. 

“You sneaky bastard,” He whispered to Echo.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about, Captain,” Echo responded. Rex rolled his eyes and continued on. 

The walkway evidently led to the medbay. At the end of it stood some of Torrent company— Jesse, Hardcase (now both ARC troopers, which made Rex’s heart swell with pride), and Kix, along with Cody. 

They all removed their helmets, tears shining in their eyes, but smiling. Echo removed his, too, revealing a similar expression, and Rex was certain that he shared it with them.

General Skywalker himself smiled at the sight, walking up from behind Echo and Rex and placing a hand on Rex’s shoulder.

“Welcome back, Captain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that! Yes, Hardcase survived Umbara in this AU (because I said so). Huge shoutout to endlessly-vivid on tumblr for proof reading this for me!
> 
> I have,,, quite a few thoughts as to where I want this to go. Apologies in advance, but updates are definitely going to be pretty sporadic— school is starting up again soon and I’ll be busy, but if I have free time I’ll try and write a word or two! 
> 
> Please let me know what you guys thought! Critiques and advice as to how to improve my writing are much appreciated; I’m much more of an essay writer than a fic writer, so sometimes I feel like certain descriptions of things fall flat or are worded bizarrely, y’know? 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr with the username ameanstoanendor as well, if any of y’all want to hit me up there, too! Thanks!


	2. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody is reunited with his little brother and watches over him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! Thanks for all the responses on the first chapter alone— I was blown away by how quickly some of it came in! Here’s the next chapter!

Rex had been staring at the wall across from his bed in the medbay for exactly 17 minutes and 36 seconds. Cody would know; he was keeping careful track of the time on his datapad while sitting in a chair by Rex’s bedside.

Kix had had to kick the rest of Torrent Company out while he did his check up on Rex, and he had wanted to kick Cody out, too, but Rex begged Kix to let him stay. Kix relented pretty easily, recognizing the fact that Rex had been completely alone for far too long and that company from someone he was familiar with would probably do him good.

Cody was more than happy to stay with his little brother as Kix went through the check up. It ended up being a very good thing that he had stayed, too; when Kix pulled out a needle so that he could insert an IV into Rex’s remaining arm, Rex did not react very well.

He practically  _ screamed  _ the second that Kix brought the needle near him. The scream was short, however, and it quickly turned into small whimpers. He squeezed his eyes shut and curled himself into a ball as best as he could with metal legs.

“Rex?” Cody had asked, gently nudging his brother’s shoulder. 

“No more. Please, no more,” Rex begged, “I thought I— I thought I got out of there.  _Please_. I can’t take any more of that,” He began trembling a little bit, and his breathing became ragged and uneven. It shook Cody to his core; Rex was one of the strongest-willed people he knew. Something in his heart shattered upon seeing him like this. 

“Rex,” Cody said in a firm, yet soft tone, taking his brothers hand and squeezing it, “Rex, open your eyes. You’re not on Skako Minor; you’re in a Republic Medical Base. You’re with me, with your brothers.” 

Rex cracked an eye open. His breathing was still ragged, but he visibly relaxed upon seeing Cody, and relaxed even more when he saw Kix in the background. 

“Take some deep breaths with me, okay?” Cody said, inhaling deeply through his nose, holding it for about 3 seconds, and then exhaling through his mouth. Rex imitated him, and eventually, his breathing was calm again.

“Sorry, Kix,” He muttered, “That won’t happen again.”

Kix huffed a soft laugh, “It’s okay if it does. There’s nothing to apologize for.” 

This time, as Kix came to insert the needle for the IV, Cody made sure to have his hand intertwined with Rex’s, squeezing it reassuringly as the needle went into his arm and small droplets of blood dribbled down from the injection point. Kix cleaned the blood up quickly while both Cody and Rex released breaths that they hadn’t realized they were holding.

“Alright, Captain. For now, you can rest. I’ll be coming back every hour or so to check on you, just to make sure you’re still alright,” Kix said, “I’ll leave some crackers and water by your bedside. Try to eat as much as you can, but stop if you feel your stomach getting upset. Anything I can get you to make you a little more comfortable?”

Rex hesitated, but then sighed and muttered, “Another blanket might help,” He already had three wrapped around him, but his body temperature was way below where it needed to be, so it was difficult for him to remain warm.

Kix nodded at him, grabbed a blanket from a cabinet on the other side of the room, and gently handed it to a grateful Rex, who finally released his grip on Cody’s hand to take it. Kix then locked eyes with Cody, giving him a sharp nod as well. He turned on his heel and left the medbay, leaving Cody and Rex alone.

Rex wrapped the blanket around himself and leaned back into his pillows, heaving a big sigh. He kept his eyes locked on the wall across from him. Cody didn’t force him to talk, and instead picked up his datapad so that he could attempt to begin some paperwork.

That had all occurred 18 minutes and 33 seconds ago, now. Cody hadn’t started his paperwork at all in that time, instead keeping an eye on the clock and worrying about his little brother the entire time.

During that period, he had thought a lot about what the Techno Union had done to Rex.

When he had first left that ship arm-in-arm with Echo, Cody could barely believe that that was him. The only feature on him that still looked distinctly like  _Rex_ was the blond hair, still buzzed short. It was difficult to see when he was as pale as he was, though. 

The clothes he was wearing made him look small, and Cody thought at first that it must’ve been some of Wrecker’s extra clothes, with how huge they looked on Rex. Cody found out later that some of Crosshair’s clothing was actually given to Rex because Crosshair was the skinniest of the Bad Batch. 

When Cody later saw Rex without the clothing on, as he had had to take it off so that Kix could look him over completely, he wanted to shoot something. No, not something, some _one_ . Wat Tambor came to mind. 

His little brother had been  _starved._ Cody knew that if Rex hadn’t been rescued when he was, there was a good chance that he might not have lived for much longer. The only reason he had survived as long as he did was because a) he was a stubborn arsehole and b) the cryo-pod the Techno Union held him in slowed down all of his bodily functions, so he didn’t need to eat as often. 

That was ignoring all of the metal implants in him, too. His spine was completely encased in metal. They had drilled into his brother’s skull, into his  brain , and inserted ports so that they could steal all of his thoughts and memories. They turned him into a  _machine._ Cody highly doubted that they gave him any pain relievers during the procedures, and the thought of his brother screaming and  _screaming_ and  _crying_ and  _begging_ them to stop haunted him. 

Cody shook himself out of his thoughts and glanced down at his datapad. 20 minutes and 27 seconds, now. He figured that Rex had disassociated for long enough. He rose from his seat and set down his datapad in his vacated chair. 

Cody noted that his little brother was still shivering, despite the abundance of blankets wrapped around him. He only thought about it for one second before he began undoing the straps of his armor, removing it and neatly laying it on the ground.

Once he had stripped down to just his blacks, he gently grabbed Rex’s hand again. Rex startled, finally looking away from the wall and towards Cody. Cody gestured for him to scoot over, and Rex obliged, shifting over to the right side of his bed. Cody hefted himself up onto the left side.

As soon as Cody was settled in, Rex immediately gravitated towards him. Cody wrapped his arms around him, and Rex settled against his chest, practically soaking in Cody’s body heat. 

Eventually, he stopped shivering and was calm, eyes closed. Cody sighed contentedly and closed his own eyes, intending to sleep, but a few moments later, Rex started shaking again. 

Cody opened his eyes again and found that this time, Rex was shaking not because he was shivering, but because he was  crying . It was obvious that he was trying not to cry, but tears continued to leak from his eyes anyways. It made Cody tear up, as well.

Cody moved his hand so that he could rub Rex’s back, rubbing circles into his shoulder blades gently.

“It’ll be okay,  _vod’ika_ ,” Cody said quietly as Rexcontinued his quiet crying.

Rex took a few shuddering breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. Cody continued to hold him. 

“Please don’t leave me,  _ori’vod,_ ” Rex begged, his voice so quiet and raspy from underuse that Cody had to strain his ears to hear him. 

“Don’t worry,  _vod’ika_. I’m staying right here.”

By the time that Kix came to check on Rex again, the two brothers were asleep in each other’s arms, and Kix knew better than to disturb them. The small smiles he saw on their faces made him wear his own as he quietly slipped from the medbay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one is a bit short, but I felt that that was the right place to end at. Hope that you all enjoyed it regardless!
> 
> vod’ika means little brother, and ori’vod means older brother in Mando’a, for anyone who’s wondering :) it’s important to note that any relationships in these fics are going to be purely PLATONIC/brotherly, by the way. No romance, that ain’t my thing
> 
> So basically, the next few chapters are going to be our favorite clones reacting to the return of their beloved captain, along with them catching him up on some of the stuff he missed (like, for instance, Fives’ death). 
> 
> This one didn’t get proof-read by someone else because I was too excited to post it, so there’s a good chance that I’ll catch a mistake later and then have to fix it, but that’s life (also I’m posting this at midnight so who knows what I missed— I’ll definitely reread this in the morning and edit any weird errors). 
> 
> As with last time, feel free to give me critiques/advice so that I can improve the story! My goal is for each chapter to be more well-written than the last chapter,,, I don’t know if that was true for this chapter. This is kinda my first time writing a hurt/comfort scenario like this, but hopefully it’ll all get better as time goes on!
> 
> I’m on tumblr at ameanstoanendor as well, so also feel free to hit me up on there!


	3. Retrospection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kix has a few moments of introspection and attempts to offer Rex some comfort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!

Kix had taken care of a lot of brothers in his time as a medic for the 501st. After all, it was his job, and he did not take it lightly, despite all the jokes that Jesse and Hardcase liked to make at his expense about his “frightening disposition.” 

It was always harder for Kix to treat the brothers he was closer to, though. It hurt him more to see them hurting, both physically and mentally (because despite what the Kaminoans insisted, clones could still fall victim to PTSD and stress; they were human, after all, and no amount of genetic engineering could take that aspect away from them). 

It wasn’t Kix’s first time treating Rex, of course. There had been that time on Saleucami when he had been shot right in the center of his chest, and they’d had to find him a place to stay the night to recover. There had been plenty of other minor injuries that he’d had to treat his captain for, too. It was bound to happen in a war. It was  _ normal._ Kix  _ liked _ normal; he liked a routine.

But this? This was completely outside of Kix’s relative sense of normalcy. The gaunt, pale face of his captain would haunt him even when he wasn’t on shift. It filled him with a sense of rage that he’d never felt before— not even when Fives had died in Echo’s arms, right in front of his eyes, as Kix had tried his best to save him. That was certainly a close second, though. 

How dare someone do this to Rex? To any living being, for that matter? It sickened him to think about what it must have been like for Rex, to be torn into and changed so drastically. Kix wasn’t much of a guy to act upon his emotions, but he decided that if he ever met anyone from the Techno Union, he’d shoot them dead on sight. He would do that if this had happened to any of his brothers, of course, but there was also a sense of protectiveness towards Rex that he wouldn’t feel towards anyone else simply because Rex was  _his_ captain.

Echo was an amazing captain, of course, but Rex was someone that Kix had looked up to since he’d been assigned to the 501st. The man wasn’t much older than him, but Rex had always carried himself with a sense of authority that made him seem older than the rest of the clones. His leadership skills were unparalleled; he was the perfect mixture of firmness and kindness. He knew when to discipline someone and when to cut them some slack. He knew when to joke around and when to be serious. He led by example, not expecting his men to do something if he didn’t do it with them. Most importantly, he cared greatly for the lives of his men. He was the kind of leader that got respect because he deserved it, not because he demanded it. 

Those qualities had shaped Kix into the person he was today, too. He had always tried to emulate them to the best of his ability, although some were more difficult for him to grasp than others. He wasn’t the best at relating with the men, for example, whereas the captain had been amazing at it. Kix knew that he had a tendency to isolate himself when his work became a tad too stressful. It made him seem cold and rude to others when he did this, but sometimes he really just needed to be alone. Most clones didn’t really understand that, as they’d grown up always being surrounded by others. Most sought the comfort of their brothers when they were upset, and so they didn’t fully understand Kix’s need to be alone, while he didn’t understand their need for others. 

Kix did know, however, that Rex was one of those who sought solace in others. Kix was feeling somewhat overwhelmed, himself, as there were still battles occurring all across the planet, meaning that new men were being brought to the med-bay in a near constant stream. His shift was almost over, and he needed to be alone for a little bit so that he could decompress and recollect himself. He decided that he’d check on Rex one last time before his shift ended, though.

Cody had been called back to the front a few hours ago, leaving the captain alone. As Kix approached from across the med-bay, he could immediately tell that something was off. 

Rex looked... lost. He was alternating between staring at the wall and inspecting his prosthetic arm. Kix knew that he was impatient to leave; the only quality Kix had ever disliked about his captain was the fact that he had a tendency to hide or downplay injuries. Still, he needed to be kept under careful observation for another day or so, just to be sure that there weren’t any adverse effects from being disconnected from that pod he’d been held in. 

“Captain? Are you doing alright?” Kix asked as he approached.

Rex started a little bit, but relaxed quickly when he saw Kix, “Yeah, yeah I’m fine.”

Kix arched an eyebrow at that, “All due respect, captain, but I don’t think you are.” 

Rex huffed, crossed his arms across his chest and repeated, “All things considered, I’m fine.” 

Kix rolled his eyes, “Captain, you and I both know that you’re lying right now. You’re hurting, physically and mentally.”

“We were engineered to be able to withstand all kinds of—“ Rex began.

“Of mental stress, I know, captain, and I say that that’s banthashit,” Kix interrupted, “It’s going to take time for you to heal, sir, but it won’t work if you don’t let us help you.”

Rex sighed and said nothing. 

Kix took a deep breath and continued, “Sir, I’ve been told that my bedside manner can be somewhat unsettling, and I’ve never been the best at offering comfort to other brothers, but let me know what I can do to help. Anything at all.”

Rex stared at his blankets for a few moments, picking at a thread on one of them, a slight nod being the only acknowledgment that he had heard what Kix had said.

The medic turned to leave, not knowing what else to do, when he heard a soft, “Wait.”

Kix turned back towards the captain and looked at him expectantly.

Rex made eye contact with him and sighed again, “Will you... will you just stay here, near me? We don’t have to talk, or anything, but having you there is enough.” Kix smiled warmly and nodded, sitting in the chair at Rex’s bedside. Rex visibly relaxed into his bed.

They did end up chatting idly. Kix regaled him with chaotic stories of prank wars that had happened during his absence.

“And then this pilot, Viper— he and Hardcase teamed up, and apparently they thought they had been sneaky when they’d painted obscene symbols onto Echo and Jesse’s armor, but they definitely hadn’t. Viper ended up with pink hair, somehow, and Hardcase’s blacks were dyed pink. Didn’t wash out of either of their stuff for a whole week. Echo and Jesse refuse to admit that they were the ones who did that, though,” Kix told Rex, who was smiling and laughing. 

“I’ve missed this,” Rex said, expression turning wistful. 

“Me too, captain. We’re glad to have you back here,” Kix responded. Rex nodded at him gratefully.

“It’s also nice to have real food,” he said, lifting an eyebrow at Kix.

“Oh, are we hungry now? Are you implying that you want me to get you food? What am I, your servant?” Kix asked in mock offense, holding a hand to his chest dramatically. Rex laughed.

“I’ll get you some right away, captain, and I’ll also grab a datapad for you to help ward off some boredom. Might be helpful for you to get caught up on what you’ve missed, and maybe also to mess around with some commanders who’ve certainly missed you and don’t know you’re back,” Kix stood up and stretched. He smiled at his captain and set off to grab him some food. 

Checking his watch as he walked, he noticed that his shift had ended nearly an hour ago, but he had no regrets about staying and talking to Rex rather than getting himself some alone time. Some things were more important than that, perhaps.

(And he could also always get some alone time later, of course).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Self-projecting all of my introverted tendencies onto Kix? More likely than you think. 
> 
> In all seriousness, I do headcanon Kix (who is one of my favorite clones, he’s at least my second favorite) as being more introverted than the rest of the clones. He just gives off those vibes, y’know? And as a very introverted person myself, alone time is one of the most important parts of my days, so I figured Kix might like it, too.
> 
> The clone pilot that I mentioned, Viper, is a creation of my friend not-doom-guy on tumblr. They told me all about him and I absolutely fell in love with him and promised that he’d at least get a mention in this fic. He’s a man of chaos, just like Hardcase... it’s best to not leave them alone together for too long, or something will get blown up. He’d also wear cool sunglasses all the time, but that’s just a sidenote. 
> 
> I’ll go back and re-read this chapter again soon to catch some little mistakes, but I really wanted to post it! I get bursts of inspiration, crank out a chapter in about an hour, and then proof-read it once or twice before posting it because I get so excited about them. 
> 
> I promise that this story has a bigger plot, but I need to give Rex lots of hugs before I can progress it, okay? Just let me have this.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at ameanstoanendor, if any of you want to hit me up there!


	4. Reacclimating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin talks to Rex about Ahsoka (before promptly changing the subject), and Rex has a heart-to-heart with Jesse and Hardcase.

After a couple of days, Rex was finally released from the medbay. He was given a strict diet to stick to and a schedule for physical therapy in order to allow him to grow used to his cybernetic limbs. His natural tan was quickly returning, and he was certainly looking healthier. The armor they gave him hid the fact that his ribs were still scarily visible, though.

There was a lull in the fighting, and Rex was sitting just outside of the Republic’s base, his eyes closed and his head upturned towards the sun, a slight smile resting upon his face. The sun felt so good and warm on him. After his experience on Skako-Minor, Rex vowed to himself that he would never take heat for granted again. 

“Are you doing alright, Captain?” A voice asked from behind him. Rex startled out of his thoughts, opening his eyes and whipping his head towards the source.

“Ah, sorry. Just me, Rex,” General Skywalker said, walking up and resting his hand on Rex’s shoulder as he sat down to his left.

“Oh, no worries, General,” Rex said as he visibly relaxed, “I’m doing fine.”

“When it’s just the two of us, Anakin will do fine,” the Jedi said, chuckling lightly, “Soaking in the sun’s rays?”

“Yeah. Never would have guessed how much I’ve missed it,” Rex responded. The pair sat in a comfortable silence for a couple moments, looking out on the horizon towards the now-setting sun. 

As they sat, Anakin seemed to be deciding what to say to him. Rex let him think, willing to let this quiet moment last.

“Has anyone told you about Ahsoka?” Anakin asked. Rex looked at him, alarmed.

“No. I figured she was on Coruscant at the Jedi Temple or something. Is she... is she...” Rex spluttered. Anakin looked at him with a pained expression.

“She’s not dead, as far as I know,” Anakin said in a quiet voice, “She was blamed for a bombing at the Jedi Temple that killed some troopers and a few civilian workers. She didn’t do it. It ended up being her own friend, Padawan Barriss Offee. I was able to prove Ahsoka’s innocence, but in the end she chose to leave the Jedi Order because they were the ones who put her up for trial to begin with.”

Upon hearing that Ahsoka most likely wasn’t dead, Rex relaxed minutely. Still, Rex wasn’t happy to hear the news.

“I missed so much,” He said quietly, “So much has changed in the past year or so.”

Anakin sighed and nodded, “I’m sorry that we left you behind at the Citadel.”

“That’s not your fault. It was necessary, to save the life of General Piell,” Rex replied. Anakin cringed, but said nothing. Rex didn’t want to ask about it. 

Anakin then smiled slightly, attempting to shift the mood, “Hey, if you ever need help with any of your cybernetics, let me know. I’m kind of an expert in them, you know.” He lifted up his gloved prosthetic arm and wiggled his fingers and eyebrows at the same time, which made Rex chuckle, although he did not yet have an actual hand for his right arm. 

“I’ll come to you first if I have issues with any of it,” Rex promised, causing Anakin to beam.

“You certainly will, Captain. C’mon, I bet you need to get something to eat. Good to see you looking more... more your color, though,” Anakin said, standing up and offering his hand to Rex, who took it and stood with him with a huff. They began making their way back to the interior of the base.

“I was just a little paler than normal,” He whined.

“You looked like a ghost,” Anakin said frankly, “You still do, sometimes, when you stare off into space for awhile.” Rex scowled at him.

“Has anyone ever told you that you need a lesson in tactfulness, sir?” He asked.

“Obi-Wan has quite a few times, but I always end up tuning him out,” Anakin responded.

“No surprise there,” Rex muttered, which earned him a light shove from Anakin as they made their way to the mess tents.

“Well, Rex, I’m afraid I’m going to have to eat with the other Generals while we work on battle plans. Your rescue certainly made things easier, but the battle is still raging on,” Anakin said, “I trust you’ll get something to eat right now, yes?”

“Well, why else would he be here?” asked a perky voice from behind them. They turned and saw Hardcase and Jesse approaching them.

“Don’t worry, General Skywalker. We’ll make sure he gets plenty of food in him,” Jesse said, walking up and draping an arm across Rex’s shoulders. 

Anakin nodded at the trio of brothers, saluted Rex, and left the mess tent. Jesse removed his arm from Rex’s shoulder and the three of them made their way to the line for the food.

“Alright, Captain, I’ll grab your tray,” Hardcase said, hopping into the line and picking one up.

“Hardcase, you don’t need to do that,” Rex said with a sigh, “I can carry my own tray.” He snatched the tray from Hardcase, who held his hands up in mock-surrender while wearing a mischievous grin and grabbed another tray for himself. Jesse picked up a tray and fell into the line behind them.

Rex had to set his tray down, pick up the food, set it on his tray, and then pick up his tray and continue down the line, as he only had one good hand, but he managed by himself, which secretly made him very proud of himself.

The trio sat down at a table together. They ate ravenously, Rex because he was half-starved and was constantly hungry, and Jesse and Hardcase because they had just finished a long battle. 

“Hey, Rex, are you getting enough sleep?” Jesse asked suddenly, “The bags under your eyes are really big.”

Rex lifted an eyebrow. The honest, truthful answer was no, he hadn’t, because he was almost constantly in some sort of pain, but he did not say that. Instead, he replied, “Of course I am, Jesse. And just like I told General Skywalker, it appears that you need a lesson in tactfulness.”

Jesse had the decency to look embarrassed, at least, but he did not seem convinced, nor did Hardcase, but he let it drop.

“When did the two of you become ARC Troopers?” Rex asked, quickly changing the subject. The duo instantly perked up.

“A couple of months ago! The training was brutal, though. I don’t know how you or Echo or— or Fives ever made it through it,” Hardcase responded lightly. 

Rex ignored the stutter over the mention ofFives and the way that the duo absentmindedly rubbed twin scars on their heads, and laughed, “It was certainly quite the experience. Still, I always knew the two of you had it in you. I would’ve sent you to be ARC Troopers at some point, myself.”

Jesse and Hardcase wore identical smiles at that.

“That means more than you know, Captain,” Jesse responded. Hardcase nodded in agreement. They continued eating their meals, all three more relaxed than they had been when they entered the mess tent. 

Jesse finished his meal first and sat back in his chair, putting his arms behind his head and sighing, “Captain, in all honesty, after the crew returned from the Citadel without you, we had no clue what to do. We were... we were lost.”

Rex paused his meal and looked over to Jesse. Hardcase stayed silent and stared at his food.

“Echo didn’t want to get promoted to Captain, you know, but it was down to him or Fives, and Fives insisted that Echo would be much better than himself,” Jesse continued, “All of us have been worried, ever since then, about whether or not we were living up to your memory. If we were doing what you would have done, if it might have been handled better if you had been there. Echo has certainly agonized over it for ages. So, hearing you say that you would’ve made us ARC troopers— it just means a lot, Rex.” By the end of it, his eyes were shining with unshed tears. Hardcase wore the same expression.

Rex’s own eyes were shining as well as he leaned across the table and grabbed Jesse’s hand, “Firstly, Hardcase, if I had two hands still, I’d have grabbed yours as well,” that earned him a chuckle from the pair as he took a deep breath and continued, “Secondly, I’m honored that you guys wanted to honor my memory in such a way. It means a lot to me to hear that you men care about me so much. But I don’t care if you all did exactly what I would have done, or if you did something better or worse than I would have. I care that you all did what  _you_ would have done. I sincerely hope that you all haven’t spent this past year trying to be me instead of being yourselves.”

The duo shared meaningful expressions and smiled at Rex. 

“Well, nobody could live up to you, anyways,” Hardcase said.

Rex laughed at that, “Hardcase, I very much doubt that. By no means am I perfect, and I haven’t ever been.”

“Yeah, but... when were shinies when we first came to Torrent Company, you were the guy we looked up to the most. You’ve always seemed larger than life to us, and don’t try to argue with us about it,” Hardcase said. 

Rex smiled at the two of them, gently removing his hand from Jesse’s and continuing to eat his food. 

After a few moments, he paused and regarded the two of them before sucking in a deep breath and asking, “Now, I hate to kill the mood, but if you don’t mind my asking, what happened to Fives, and does it have something to do with the identical scars you have on your heads in the exact same spot?”

Their eyes widened and they exchanged looks with each other. For a moment, Rex mentally kicked himself. It appeared that he was now the one that needed the lesson in tactfulness.

“We forgot how damn observant you are, Captain,” said Hardcase after a few moments of tense silence. Rex smirked at him.

“We think it’s probably better explained by Echo. He’s been wanting to talk with you about it, but the battle’s been keeping him busy,” Jesse said, “But I promise that he’ll explain it to you as soon as he can.”

Rex nodded, accepting that answer and not prying any further. 

Eventually, the trio finished their meals and began to head back to the barracks. Various clones would nod at Rex as they passed, all happy to see him back.

“Man, I wish this siege would just end already. It’s lasted way longer than it needs to,” Hardcase said conversationally. Jesse and Rex muttered in agreement, and they eventually made their ways to their own beds.

As Rex laid awake while everyone else around him fell asleep, he realized that he might have a plan that could speed everything up and end the battle for good. 

He’d just need some help from General Skywalker, Echo, and the Bad Batch, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I wrote this while I was supposed to be paying attention to a zoom meeting for school. This was more fun to write, anyways.
> 
> As always, please let me know if you have critiques or writing advice. I’m always wanting to improve. 
> 
> I’m on tumblr at ameanstoanendor as well if any of you want to hit me up there!


	5. Reaffirming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rex enacts his plan to end the battles on Anaxes and to prove his loyalty to the Republic and his brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is very much based on S7E4: Unfinished Business. Any quotes that are directly from it or are very similar to the stuff in it have an * in front of them. I definitely do not own any of that stuff.

The following morning, Rex got up (not woke up, as he had only fallen asleep for maybe an hour or two before his nightmares and pain woke him) and immediately donned his armor. He had given great thought to his plan throughout the night, and had worked out any flaws in it that he could think of. He was antsy to assist in the fight, as he’d been cooped up on the base for a couple of days without doing much else, which frustrated him to no end. He understood why it was necessary, of course, but that didn’t mean that he had to be happy about it.

He found his way to where the generals, Echo, Jesse, and Hardcase were gathered around a holotable, looking at maps of the various fronts open on Anaxes.

“*There are 12 open battlefronts on Anaxes, and we are losing nearly every one of them,” Windu was saying.

“I think I can help with that,” Rex announced as he approached the group. 

The group shared looks and Echo excused himself to speak with him for a few moments.

“Rex... I just don’t think you’re ready for battle yet,” He said. His expression softened as he continued, “And more personally, I don’t want to risk losing you again.”

Rex smiled at him, “I appreciate your concern, but I know that I can do this. I am  not a liability*.”

“If the captain has a plan, I say we hear it,” Windu said. Echo nodded at Rex and returned to his position at the table, Rex following and walking up to the data-port. 

Purposefully, he did not make eye contact with any of them as he inserted his prosthetic arm into it. Instantly, he could see numbers, plans, schematics, and more, all flying around in his head. It was a feeling he was all too used to, as his head was filled with data from the Techno Union’s database. The information he had for this came from this, in fact. He pulled up a schematic of Trench’s ship that he had been privy to on Skako Minor.

“Essentially, the Bad Batch would escort me into Trench’s new comm vault, located in this Separatist Dreadnought above Anaxes,” Rex began, pulling up the specific point where the comm vault was located on the ship to show the group surrounding the table. 

“The Techno Union wouldn’t have told Trench that I’d been rescued, as that would be a blow to their reputation. As far as he knows, he still has his algorithm. So, while I’m in the comm vault, I’ll feed Trench fake strategies. The Republic will know what’s going to happen before the Separatists do. It will play into our hands, instead of theirs,” Rex continued. Everyone around the table seemed impressed.

“Are you positive you can do this, Rex?” Anakin asked.

Rex nodded, “*Unfortunately, I’ve been doing this for awhile, but this time, I can help bring about a Republic victory instead of a defeat.”

“Well, Captain, this is certainly on brand for your plans,” Kenobi quipped, “Let’s do it. I have every bit of confidence in your abilities to accomplish this.” 

Anakin nodded, “Echo and I will go along with them.”

Everyone at the table nodded in agreement. Rex never thought he’d be so relieved to have his mission approved. The meeting adjourned. Kenobi and Windu went to their troops, while the others lingered.

“Rex, Echo and I will go fetch the Bad Batch. I believe Jesse and Hardcase have a surprise for you,” Anakin said. He gestured for Echo to follow him and walked off. Echo placed a hand on Rex’s shoulder and offered him a quick smile before following.

Jesse and Hardcase removed their helmets and beckoned Rex over to them. They had huge grins on their faces as they led him over to some crates sitting in the corner of the platform. Hardcase picked something up and hid it behind his back.

“Okay, well, we all know how much you loved your old helmet, and how it was welded together with a Phase 1 helmet,” Jesse began. Hardcase revealed what he was hiding: a near-perfect copy of Rex’s old helmet, complete with blue Jaig eyes and tally-marks.

“We know it isn’t perfect, but we... well, we wanted you to have it,” Hardcase told him as Rex gently took it from him.

“Thank you so much, boy. This means more to me than you know,” Rex said, a huge smile on his face. 

“Of course, sir! Stay safe up there,” Jesse said, grinning from ear to ear. They all saluted each other and parted ways.

Walking his his helmet tucked under the crook of his arm, Rex quickly found the Bad Batch (it was easy, considering how their ship stood out compared to the rest of the ships in the shipyard). 

He went to stand beside Echo for a moment, before continuing onto the ship. Behind him, he could hear Tech muttering unhappily about the mission.

“*We don’t really know where his loyalties lie,” he said. Rex didn’t blame him in the slightest for being worried about this. He had, after all, been forced to work for the Separatists for over a year. He would question someone’s loyalty after coming back from an experience like that, too.

“*Well, I know,” Echo responded shortly, which made Rex smile to himself. Echo was a good soldier and an even better friend, he mused.

The ship took off not long after, and the mission began.

“*How do you plan on getting us into their ship?” Hunter questioned.

“*I’m going to send a signal to the command ship that will make us look like we’re a Separatist shuttle coming in for a landing,” Rex responded, plugging himself into the data-port in the control panel of the ship.

Hunter gave a low whistle at that and quipped, “*And the regs think  _we_ take risks.”

Rex just smirked and scrambled their signal. He couldn’t help but feel satisfied at the impressed sounds the Bad Batch made behind him.

Sneaking into the comm vault was exceedingly easy. In fact, this was probably the easiest infiltration mission Rex had been a part of, and he knew that everyone with him was thinking similarly.

Tech easily got the door to the vault open. He, Anakin, Hunter, Echo and Rex entered the room while Wrecker and Crosshair kept watch outside. Rex made his way to the data processing unit and removed his helmet, setting it down beside him.

“*Tech, can you rig an interface?”

“*I assume that’s a rhetorical question,” Tech replied with a roll of his eyes, quickly accomplishing what Rex had asked of him.

“*Make sure there aren’t any other entrances,” Rex continued as he lowered himself to his knees and prepared to plug into the data-port.

“*I’m on it,” Anakin said from behind him, leaving the room. 

Rex plugged himself in, holding his hand to his head as all the data of the ship was plunged into his mind.

“*Alright, I’m in. Perfect timing, too— I just scanned a strategy request Trench sent to the Techno Union,” Rex reported. He prepared to send his strategy, but Tech interrupted him.

“*You can’t just send a signal from here. We have to make it appear as if your signal is originating from Skako Minor; otherwise, they’ll know we’re here.”

Rex nodded and waited for Tech to scramble their location before sending in his strategy.

“*I’m intercepting a transmission for an order given to the Separatists. Mobilize all troops on Anaxes to the assembly complex. The Republic won’t send reinforcements because they’ll put all faith in the Jedi,” Tech reported. 

“What are you playing at, Rex? Our troops will be outnumbered,” Hunter demanded.

“*Don’t worry, that was my plan. I’m going to send a feedback pulse that will shut down all the droids at the same time. It’s easier if they’re all in the same place,” Rex replied.

“*How do we know for sure that that’s what you’re going to do?” Tech questioned.

“Rex has always made risky plans like this,” Anakin responded, “It’s for the best that we trust him.” Echo voiced his agreement. 

“Well, General, I learned from watching you,” said Rex with a chuckle. Anakin sent a warning to the generals on the surface that more droids were heading their way.

As soon as they were all in the assembly complex, Rex sent the feedback pulse and shut them down.

Windu commed him shortly afterwards, “*That worked well, Captain. Thanks to your efforts, all fronts are now falling to the Republic.”

“*Wow, I guess you actually are on our side,” Hunter said, approval evident in his tone.

“*Was there ever any doubt?” Rex asked sarcastically, offering him a lopsided grin.

“*Well... some,” Tech replied honestly.

“*Well... thanks,” Rex said. He was thrilled that this plan had been quick, easy, and painless. In fact, it felt far too easy, but Rex didn’t voice that thought.

Echo patted his shoulder, “*Come on, sir, unplug and let’s get outta here.”

Rex was about to do so, but then he scanned something that makes his blood run cold. Of  _course_ he shouldn’t have even thought about having a bad feeling about the mission. That  _always_ jinxed it.

“*Wait, I just scanned a new order from Trench. He’s initiated a countdown. There’s a bomb hidden at the assembly complex... and it’s big enough to destroy most of Anaxes,” Rex reported, causing everyone to freeze.

“*Can you stop it?” Anakin asked.

“*Well... I can try,” Rex answered, truly not certain of whether he could or couldn’t. He was going to do his best, though.

Anakin ran off into the hallway as Tech commed Windu and warned them of the bomb.

“*Rex, tell me the sequence to shut it down,” Windu said through the comms after a few moments.

“*I’m decrypting it now,” Rex said, numbers and code running through his mind.

“*Rex, you have to unplug, or they’re going to detect us,” Tech said from behind him in an urgent tone.

“*No, no, we need this code,” Rex said stubbornly, “The first number in the sequence is 3. The next is... 1... 8... 7...” All he needed was one more number. He was  so close, but of course, not everything could go their way.

“*They’re onto us, you need to unplug, NOW,” Tech said earnestly.

Rex barely had time to look up before an electric pulse was sent down the port he was plugged into. Suddenly, the pain he already felt from his modifications was multiplied tenfold. Electricity coursed through him, and he was dimly aware of someone screaming. As someone dragged his arm out of the port, he had time to realize that it was  _himself_ who was screaming before he faded into a black oblivion. 

——————

He came to with a massive headache— scratch that, not just a headache. His entire  _body_ ached. He opened his eyes to find himself in a sitting position.

“Ugh,” he muttered to himself, “That’s the first good sleep I’ve gotten in awhile.” 

Someone near him cleared their throat, which prompted him to take a closer look at his surroundings. Echo was treating him with an unimpressed expression and a raised an eyebrow.

Rex just shrugged and began to push himself off of the ground, ignoring the way his entire being screamed at the effort. He thought he was doing a good job at hiding his discomfort, but Echo held out his hand for him to steady himself anyways. He vision went black for a few moments as he stood up, so he leaned against the wall.

“General Skywalker was able to get the last number for the code, by the way,” Echo told him while he steadied himself, “And he managed to find the self-destruct button for the ship, so he let Wrecker blow it up as soon as we cleared it. We’ll be landing any second, now.”

Rex nodded at him in thanks, thrilled that his plan had been so successful, with only a somewhat minor hiccup. The pair made their way to the cockpit, where the Bad Batch and Anakin were bickering about who had the cooler moment during the infiltration— Wrecker, or Crosshair.

Rex chuckled at the antics. They landed shortly thereafter, where they were met by Generals Kenobi and Windu. 

Windu commended them for their bravery, and Kenobi promised them medals for it.

Rex began to follow them and Echo, but noticed that the Bad Batch stayed behind.

“*You coming?” He asked them.

“*Not really our thing,” Tech replied with a shrug. 

“*Accolades,” Crosshair added, flicking his toothpick to the ground. 

“*Yeah, we’re just in it for the thrill,” Wrecker finished, a huge, lopsided grin upon his face.

“*Are you sure it’s your thing?” Hunter asked him.

“*What do you mean?” Rex asked, tilting his head curiously.

“*You’re different, and so are we,” Hunter answered, “If you ever feel like you don’t fit in with them... well, find us. We’d be honored to fight by your side anytime.”

Oh.  _That’s_ what he meant. Rex had to admit that he was very tempted by the idea. They were some of the finest soldiers he’d ever met, if a bit unorthodox. But... they weren’t his closest brothers, his  _family_ . Not yet, anyways. But here, he had Cody and Echo, and Jesse, Hardcase, and Kix. Even some of the Teth survivors were still around. Rex couldn’t find it in himself to leave them so soon after being found.

“I may, someday, but the 501st are my brothers. I just got back, after all and I’ve... I’ve missed them. For now, just give me your comm code, in case I ever do need to call,” Rex answered. The others all understood the importance of brothers. Hunter gave him their code. They all saluted him as he walked over to meet up with Echo, who had paused to wait for him. The two of them mirrored their salutes, and they went their separate ways.

“Good job, Rex,” Echo said conversationally as they made their way to where the generals were waiting for them.

“Thanks, Echo,” Rex said. His  _everything_ was aching quite a bit, though, which distracted him greatly.

“Yeah... after this, you’re going straight to Kix for a check up,” Echo told him.

Rex scowled at him. 

“What? You got electrocuted to the point of unconsciousness. Of  course you need a check up. But while you’re there, I’d also like to catch you up on some things,” Echo said, “If you’re up for it, that is. It’s... it’s pretty emotionally draining, so you may want to rest a little bit before, but—“

“Echo, you can tell me all about it when I get there, okay?” Rex knew that it would be about Fives’ death. It would be a difficult subject to broach, but he  needed to know. 

“But first, let’s enjoy this moment, alright?” Rex smiled at him as they finally reached the generals. Echo smiled back, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes, and nodded weakly. 

Fives’ story could wait just a little while longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter I’ve written yet! I rewatched that episode last night and took notes on it and everything so that I could get it just right. I feel like Rex would definitely have come up with this plan as well, because I think Echo came up with it because he learned from Captain “uhhh Roger Roger” Rex. 
> 
> I do think, however, that he would stay with the 501st because he has more of a reason to than Echo did. I think Echo left because the only person he really had was Rex (he knew Fives was gone :( ), whereas Rex considers all of his men to be his brothers because he was in charge of them, so they mean something different to him than they did to Echo (plus Cody’s still alive and the 212th and 501st work together a lot, soooo). 
> 
> Also, never fear— this is not the last we’ll see of the Bad Batch! They’ll come back at some point, and they’ll play an even bigger role in a future project I have planned for this series.
> 
> Any and all mistakes are mine, of course— I’m sure I’ll find some random ones and go through and fix them at some point. But! New chapter! Yay! Edit on 1/20/21 (the next day)– fixed some stuff to make it flow a little better. I used “responded” wayyyy too much the first time through, so I replaced a few of those.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at ameanstoanendor! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


	6. Recollection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Echo tells Rex about Fives’ death and the chips, and also gets some much needed words of comfort from his older brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter I’ve written for this yet! I hope you enjoy!

It had become apparent to everyone present at the medal ceremony that Rex needed to go to the medbay as quickly as possible. He wore a pinched, pained expression throughout it all. He was normally very efficient at masking any signs of pain; the fact that he was letting it show was concerning. 

Luckily for him, medal ceremonies in the middle of a war never took very long. It was finished within five minutes of its start time. As soon as it finished, Echo offered a supportive arm for Rex, who practically melted into him. Instead of simply looping his good arm through the crook of Echo’s elbow, he draped it across his shoulder for support. After putting his own arm across Rex’s shoulders, Echo took his weight easily (and, well, the only reason there  was any weight was the metal cybernetics). 

“My joints are locking up,” Rex muttered as Echo began to lead him to the medbay. Sure enough, the knee joints of his cybernetic legs were refusing to cooperate with Rex’s movements. 

“Must’ve been the electricity,” Echo said, “Don’t worry, Rex, we’re almost to the medbay. Kix’ll look you over then.” Rex pressed his lips together, grimaced, and nodded. Echo imagined that he probably had quite the headache. Getting electrocuted would give anyone a headache regardless, but having metal implants in your head probably didn’t help matters in the slightest. 

Echo then mused that since Rex had metal implants everywhere, he probably hurt _everywhere_. It was a sad thought, to think that his captain and mentor was in such pain. He doubted it felt good, even when he  _hadn’t_ been electrocuted.

The pair reached the medbay. Kix immediately zeroed in on them and directed Rex to a nearby bed. 

“I’ll let Kix look you over, and we’ll have that discussion later, alright?” Echo told Rex, who gave him a curt nod. Echo smiled at him and left for the barracks. 

As he took a quick shower, Echo thought about all that Rex had done for him. From recruiting him to Torrent Company after Rishi, to promoting him to ARC Trooper on Kamino, to saving his  _ life _ at the Citadel, he knew he owed Rex a lot. 

Echo felt somewhat responsible for what happened to Rex. Logically, he knew that it wasn’t his fault, because Rex was the one who made the decision to push him out of the way of the shield he’d been about to pick up and protect the shuttle (this is what Fives had repeatedly told him, anyways), but Echo still felt like it should have been himself instead of Rex. If Rex hadn’t pushed him out of the way and essentially taken his place, then  _he_ would have been the one caught in that explosion and turned into a science experiment by the Techno Union. 

The selfish part of Echo was relieved that it hadn’t been himself, but he found that he was more upset about that than he ought to be. Maybe, if Rex had gotten out of the Citadel in one piece, Fives would still be alive, or Umbara wouldn’t have been as much of a disaster. Still, these were all what-ifs, and by now, Echo knew better than to dwell on the past. 

When he finished his shower, Echo put on his blacks and began the trek back to the medbay. On his way in, he saw General Skywalker walking out with an armful of... Rex’s cybernetic limbs?

“Um... General?” Echo asked, lifting an eyebrow at him.

“Ah! Echo! Rex’s cybernetics were malfunctioning after the mishap on Trench’s ship, so I volunteered to take them and fix them up. I’m sort of an expert on that topic,” Anakin said cheerily, huffing as he adjusted his grip on them, “These are... heavier than they look.”

“Can’t you... use the Force to help you with that, sir? To enhance your strength or something?”

Anakin stared at him for a few moments with a blank expression before laughing, “Haha, yeah, totally. I definitely thought of that, but sometimes I like to do things the old-fashioned way, you know? Anyways, Kix is getting onto Rex about force-knows-what, so have fun in there.” He nodded to Echo and walked off.

Echo watched him go for a few moments and noted with amusement that he started walking much easier than he had been before their little chat, as if the cybernetics were suddenly weightless. Ahhh, Jedi. They never failed to impress.

Echo entered the medbay and walked over to Rex’s bed. The sight of him missing his legs below his mid-thigh and missing his right forearm would always take some getting used to for Echo, and he felt that pang of guilt yet again. There were metal ports at the ends of each empty limb, which were the spots where the cybernetics connected with him. 

Kix was ranting to Rex about something that he did. Rex, for his part, was doing a pretty impressive job at looking as though he was sorry for whatever it was he did that made Kix so angry. 

“Echo!” Rex said when Kix took a pause in his rant, obviously trying to divert the topic.

“He’s pretty flustered, Rex, what’d you do to him?” Echo asked. Rex shrugged, causing Kix to glare at him.

“The only reason I found out that this  _ di’kut _ hasn’t been sleeping at all and has had chronic pain from all his modifications is because he got electrocuted going on a mission he wasn’t even medically cleared for!” Kix exclaimed. 

Rex shrugged apologetically, “But hey, I got a medal out of it.”

“Medals are just worthless bits of tin,” Kix deadpanned. Echo barked a laugh at that, as did Rex.

“You’re not wrong, but it’s not just a bit of tin. It’s got a ribbon on it,” Rex said. Echo laughed more at that and Kix maintained his best angry-medic-face, although his eyes were smiling. 

“Anyways, Kix, is it okay if I take him somewhere to talk in private about... you know?” Echo asked. Kix seemed to think for a moment before sighing.

“I suppose it’d be better if you told him this stuff before he was high on pain medication,” He said in a resigned tone, “Let me get him a wheelchair, because I doubt he’d let you carry him over your shoulder to wherever you plan on taking him.” He stalked off to the other side of the medbay.

Rex looked at Echo and shrugged, “He’s not wrong.” Echo chuckled. Kix came back with the wheelchair and the two of them helped Rex into it. After giving him a pillow for his back and a blanket to drape across what remained of his legs, Kix cleared him for the trip. 

Echo took Rex outside and towards the edge of the base. It was far enough away so that they couldn’t be eavesdropped on, and Echo situated himself so that he could spot anyone coming towards them from hundreds of feet away. It was as private as they could get on a military base. 

“Well, Echo, you’ve got a captive audience,” Rex joked, using his good arm to gesture towards his missing legs, “Start where you feel is best.”

Echo swallowed hard and nodded. He had been avoiding thinking about this conversation, which he now regretted, as he had absolutely no idea where he should start the story. 

After a few moments, he was able to gather his thoughts and he began, “It all started when we were at a base orbiting Ringo Vinda. One of our Torrent troopers, Tup— he came just a couple weeks after the Citadel— suddenly snapped and shot and killed one of the Jedi generals we were working with. It was either Tiplar or Tiplee, I can’t remember which.”

Rex’s eyes widened as soon as he said that Tup had killed a Jedi, but he didn’t comment or interject, waiting patiently for Echo to continue.

“Tup was acting erratically, like he’d been drugged. He kept saying ‘good soldiers follow orders’ over and over. Something had made him do that, and we had no clue what. He was taken back to Kamino eventually so that they could check him over. Fives volunteered to stay behind to stay with him. He’d gotten close to Tup, had sort of taken the kid under his wing, especially after Umbara. He told me that Tup reminded him of our old batchmate, Droidbait, who was killed a little before you and the commander got to Rishi. 

“Anyways, I let him stay with Tup, but the rest of the 501st and I went back to Coruscant. I didn’t hear from Fives for hours, until suddenly, he found Kix, Jesse, Hardcase, and I while we were on our way to 79’s. I still haven’t figured out how he got back to Coruscant in the first place, but he was wearing a shiny’s armor instead of his own,”

Echo paused and took a shuddering breath. He barely reacted when he felt Rex reach over and place a comforting hand against his back. The warmth and familiarity of the touch was a welcome feeling and Echo melted into it, just as Rex had melted into him on their way to the medbay earlier that day. 

“Something had terrified him. He told us that he was being followed and that someone was onto him, and that he’d figured something horrible out. He didn’t have time to explain any further before a blaster bolt came out of nowhere and got him right in the chest. He collapsed into my arms,” Echo rushed this part, trying his best to get through it without breaking down. 

“Kix immediately jumped to try to save him, while Jesse and Hardcase tried to figure out who had fired to shot and where it had come from. I was... I was frozen for a few moments before I let Kix look at him. Kix lowered him to the ground and I sat down with him. He was basically laying on my lap. We all... we all knew that there was nothing that Kix could do for him. It went straight through his heart. He didn’t have much time left, so we all gathered around him. I held his hand as he died... his last words were ‘the missions, the nightmares. They’re finally over,’ and I still have no clue what he meant by that,” Echo huffed a humorless laugh and buried his head into his hands, plopping himself down next to Rex’s chair. 

“I’m so sorry, Echo,” Rex said gently, rubbing circles into Echo’s back as best as he could, “That must’ve been horrible.”

Echo sighed, “And I wish I could say that that’s where the story ended, but it isn’t. Later, after reports had been made about what happened, we returned to the barracks. I didn’t want to go near his bed, so Hardcase volunteered to, and he found a recording that Fives had left for us.” 

He pulled out the camera that they had found. By now, he could probably quote it word-for-word, as he’d watched it countless times. He pressed play and held it so that Rex could watch it. 

A small hologram of Fives in a shiny’s armor appeared. His hair had been shaved off of his head and he had a bacta patch on it. He seemed nervous and distracted, looking around himself anxiously before turning to the camera. 

“Hi. Okay, it’s important that I record this because I don’t think I have much time. Tup’s... Tup’s gone, he didn’t make it. And I... I discovered some horrible truths recently. The Kaminoans... they put organic chips in every single clone’s brain, before we were even close to being out of our growth pods. They say that they’re to regulate our emotions so that we don’t act out on our anger too much, to make us more docile. But I discovered that they—“

There was a sound in the background. Fives froze for a few moments, listening intently and looking around wildly, before relaxing and turning back towards the camera. 

“They have a darker purpose. They can make us do whatever someone wants— even kill the Jedi. There’s a list of orders in them, and that’s one of them— that’s why Tup went crazy, his chip malfunctioned. And even worse— I think that Chancellor Palpatine might be behind it all,” 

There was another loud sound in the background. Fives froze again, but turned back to the camera quicker this time, leaning closer to it and lowering his voice to a whisper.

“I don’t have time to explain much more, but listen. Do a level 5 brain scan on any clone and you’ll find the chip... and... and don’t tell General Skywalker or any other Jedi about this. They’re too close to the Chancellor and the senate and they could jeopardize it all... it would be too easy for him to activate the chips and have us kill the Jedi if they knew too much. I’m sorry that I can’t explain any more, but I’ve got to go,” with that, he leaned over the top of the camera and shut it off. Echo shut off the recording as well.

He and Rex sat in silence for a few moments.

Finally, Rex spoke, “Do you believe him?”

Echo shrugged, “I... I don’t know. They later told us that it was a virus from the water we drank at Ringo Vinda that made Tup react like he did, but that doesn’t make any sense to any of us, because why wouldn’t it have affected all of us? But what Fives was saying... it’s insane. It can’t be true... at least, the part about the commands built into them and the fact that the chancellor might be behind them. The chips are real and they’re there.”

Rex let out a low whistle after Echo had finished. 

“Well, I’ve never known Fives to be one to make something like that up,” He said. Echo stayed silent, and he continued, “So, that’s why Jesse and Hardcase and Kix have those scars on their heads. I bet you have one under your hair, too.”

Echo nodded, “We’ve gotten all of Torrent’s out, along with a lot of the rest of the 501st’s. It’s a slow process because the supplies the medics need to do it are needed more on the battlefield at the moment. The war just keeps getting worse.”

Rex nodded in understanding and didn’t say anything. The pair simply basked in each other’s presence for a few moments. 

Finally, Rex spoke, “You blame yourself for it, don’t you?” 

Echo regarded him for a few moments before nodding slowly and turning to look at the ground, “I haven’t told anyone that, but yes.” 

Rex gave him a sad smile and said, “I know that this is hard to believe, but you don’t have to blame yourself for the things you can’t control. Fives made his own decisions. You couldn’t control that, and no amount of thinking back on the what-ifs and what-you-should-have-dones will ever change that.”

Echo sighed and looked at Rex with a weary expression, “That’s exactly what Fives told me after the Citadel.”

Rex rose an eyebrow at that, obviously wondering why for a few moments, before realization dawned on his face, “Echo, don’t tell me that you blame yourself for what happened to me at the Citadel.”

“I still do!” Echo exclaimed, startling Rex and even himself, “Sorry, but... it should have been me, Rex. If you hadn’t pushed me out of the way, you wouldn’t have...” 

Rex was silent for a moment before speaking up, “Wouldn’t have lost 3 limbs and been used as a science experiment? Yeah, believe me, I think about that a lot. But if I hadn’t done what I did, then it would’ve been you in this situation, Echo. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I allowed that to happen, so... I guess I can understand what you’re feeling.

“But you had no way of knowing any of what was happening to me. You thought I was dead, and I don’t blame anyone for thinking it.  _ I _ thought that I was dead for awhile, before they started...” he trailed off, took a deep breath, and continued, “but Fives was right. You can’t blame yourself for what happened back there— I made the decision to do what I did. I don’t blame you at all. I tried to be a hero, and look what it cost me.” 

Rex let out a humorless laugh and sighed, “Echo, I know it’s hard to believe all of this, but... it doesn’t do to dwell on it. Thinking about what you could have changed just won’t ever help you move on. You’ve got to learn to forgive yourself. What’s happened has happened.”

Echo scoffed, “Easier said than done.”

Rex shrugged, “No one ever said it would be easy. It’s a battle to do it, each day, but luckily, we were trained since we were cadets for battles. I struggle with it constantly, nowadays. I’ve had to remind myself every single day to choose to keep looking forward, instead of dwelling on what happened to me in the past. With all the reminders on and  in me of what happened, that’s pretty difficult and some days it doesn’t work very well. But I know you have it in you to do this. You’re a strong person, Echo.”

Echo smiled at him, “Thank you, Rex.” Rex smiled back and patted him on the back. 

“Anytime, Echo,” Rex said. 

The two sat in a much more comfortable silence after that. Echo was very appreciative of the entire conversation. Most of it wasn’t new information or advice to Echo, but something about it coming from Rex gave him a sense of closure that he hadn’t felt from hearing any of it before. 

“Well, I suppose we should head back to the medbay before Kix decides to hunt us down,” Echo said with a sigh, standing up and stretching. 

Rex let out a long sigh at that, “I guess so.” 

“How you holding up, pain-wise?” Echo asked as he began to wheel Rex back. 

“As good as I can be. Feels like a weight’s been lifted off me since the cybernetics were taken off,” Rex grinned to himself at the joke and Echo gently smacked his shoulder for making it. 

“Glad to see they left your sense of humor in tact,” Echo said with a roll of his eyes.

“It’s about the only thing,” Rex muttered, dramatically rubbing the shoulder where Echo had smacked him. 

When they arrived back at the medbay, they found Anakin waiting for them, a huge smile on his face. 

“Rex! You’re back, perfect timing!” He said. Kix noticed their re-entry and headed straight towards them.

Kix and Echo helped Rex back into his bed while Anakin stood in the background, practically vibrating from excitement. 

Rex began to pull the blankets over him a bit more and was obviously struggling to do so with one hand. Echo moved to help him but Anakin interrupted.

“Here, Rex, let me give you a  _hand_ ,” Anakin said. Rather than leaning over to help, he held out a metal hand towards him. Echo stepped backwards to stand with Kix and watched the scene unfold happily. 

Rex stared at it blankly for a few moments before he realized what it was for. He took it slowly and inspected it carefully.

“General... did you make this?” He asked, eyes wide.

“Yep! I’ve been working on it for a couple days, but I didn’t know exactly how it would connect to your arm, so I needed to look at your other prosthetic that they gave you. I needed an excuse to take it to look at it without clueing you in on anything, of course,” Anakin replied, grinning, “And well, you gave me one. Not one I would have liked to happen, mind you, but an excuse nevertheless.”

Rex beamed at him, but a mischievous expression crossed his features, “And why take my legs, then?”

“Oh, those still need to be fixed. They actually  _were_ a bit messed up,” Anakin replied, “I got too excited to show you the hand, anyways. Try it on! I wanna see if it worked!”

Rex obliged him, connecting the cybernetic arm to the port on what remained of his right arm. After ensuring that it was in place, he flexed a few of the fingers on it. Excitement was clear in his expression as he saw them responding to his movements.

Anakin was grinning from ear to ear and he did a quick fist pump, “Yes! Knew it would work. Listen, let me know if it starts acting up for anything, alright?”

“Will do, General,” Rex said with a smile, eyes not leaving his new hand, “Thank you, _so_ much.” They regarded each other for a few moments before Anakin leaned in and gave Rex a quick hug. 

“Of course, Rex. Well, I’m off— I’ve got to finish working on your legs,” Anakin said as he pulled away from the embrace. He gave a quick salute, and left the medbay. 

Echo turned to look at him, smiling at the sight of his older brother being so joyful. It was the happiest he’d seen him in a long time. 

“Well, Rex, I should probably be off too. I’m sure Kix wants to give you drugs and force you to sleep or something,” Echo said, “Thank you... for everything that you said. It helped a lot.”

Rex looked away from his hand and gave him a smile and a nod. Echo smiled back and turned to leave. 

As he was walking away, Cody entered the medbay.

“Rex! What’s this I hear about you getting electrocuted and not getting enough sleep?” Cody demanded.

There was silence for a few moments and as Echo walked through the door, he heard Rex reply, “I got a medal?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real talk, this is probably my favorite chapter so far. The words just kept coming to me so easily (and before I knew it, the chapter was 3600 words long, give or take). It’s a chapter that I’ve been building up to for awhile and the stuff in it is part of what sparked this whole AU in the first place. I wanted to make sure that it was Just Right. 
> 
> There are 2 sneaky references to the movie 1917 in this, which I know at least two of the people who read this fic will understand because we talk about 1917 on tumblr often. Those two people are not-doom-guy and endlessly-vivid on tumblr, and they’re also the two people who I talked about this AU with before I even started writing it. They encouraged me to write it, so everyone thank them for that!
> 
> Anyways! I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter because I had loads of fun writing it. As always, you can find me on tumblr at ameanstoanendor of any of you want to hit me up there! Thank you for reading!


	7. Reunited, Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar face returns and she’s very excited to see Rex... if only he’d come talk to her.

The next few weeks slowly settled into a routine. Once the siege on Anaxes was officially finished, the 501st and 212th were called back to Coruscant for a brief reprieve. 

There, Rex had a nice reunion with Fox, Thorn, Bly, and Wolffe, who were overjoyed to see him alive and well (or as well as he could be).

Rex, for his part, was healing pretty well. He was quickly regaining the weight and muscle mass that he’d loss during his captivity. He’d let his hair grow out a little longer than he normally had it before the Citadel. He only told Cody this, but it made him feel more human to have hair on his head.

Sleep was also coming easier to him. He still woke up with nightmares, but there was always a brother nearby to soothe him out of it. Any time he disassociated, a brother came to sit with him. It didn’t matter if they had ever been close or not; the comfort of someone being there was enough.

However, all of his metal attachments still caused him quite a bit of pain, so he often had to sit certain battles out once they were deployed again. Echo and Anakin had been hesitant to let him participate in any battles at all, but he had eventually convinced them that him doing something normal would help his mental state as well as his physical state.

He’d help on the bridge of the _Resolute_ whenever he had to sit out a battle. Normally, he’d ride up with some of the medics. Kix was still requiring him to do a medical check up after every battle to make sure nothing had somehow gone wrong. They didn’t want a repeat of the droid popper incident, in which they had discovered that droid poppers and Rex’s cybernetic implants didn’t exactly mix. 

Currently, the 212th and 501st were deployed together in Yerbana. Since the 501st had finished their battle early, Anakin decided to go help out Obi-Wan’s division. Most of the division went with him, but some of the medics took the injured up to the  _Resolute_ , so Rex hitched a ride with them. After his routine check up, he went to the bridge to assist Admiral Yularen with anything he might need. Yularen appreciated having the extra set of hands, as sometimes he was stretched thin with various calls coming through.

“Captain Rex, I’ve got a comm call coming in from an encrypted frequency under the name of Fulcrum. I trust you can handle it?” Yularen asked soon after Rex came in. 

Rex nodded and put on his helmet. He’d found that people were often disturbed or distracted by the metal implants in his head, so it was better to hide them when dealing with strangers. Yularen went off to do something else, and Rex answered the call.

Well, he certainly didn’t expect  _her_ to be the caller. 

——————

Ahsoka was trying not to let it show, but she was  _very_ nervous about calling the  _Resolute_ . She had no clue who would answer the call. Part of her hoped that it was Anakin, but the other part didn’t. She didn’t know if she was ready to talk to him first-thing. 

“Who do you think will pick up?” Bo-Katan asked from her position to her left.

“Admiral Yularen, probably, if they’re in battle right now... which they probably will be,” Ahsoka replied. Taking a deep breath, she called the  _Resolute_ . 

After a few moments, they answered, and the person on the other side of the holoscreen was definitely  _not_ Admiral Yularen. In fact, it was someone that Ahsoka knew to be dead.

She’d recognize that helmet anywhere. The welded phase 1 and phase 2 features, the blue  _Jaig_ eyes, and the tally-marks were a dead give-away, but she distinctly remembered that helmet being left at the site of the exploded shuttle at the Citadel. 

Perhaps this was a clone that had decorated their helmet this way to honor Rex? But Ahsoka knew that Echo probably wouldn’t have let that happen. 

Realizing that she hadn’t said anything for awhile when Bo-Katan looked at her expectantly, she fumbled over her words for a moment before incredulously asking, “Rex?”

“Commander Tano, it’s very good to see you,” the clone on the holoscreen said. 

“I... how... how is this possible? Is that really you? But the shuttle explosion, you—“ Ahsoka spluttered.

“The, ah, the rumors of my death were greatly exaggerated, to say the least,” Rex responded. 

Ahsoka wanted to say more, to catch up further, but Bo-Katan nudged her shoulder gently.

“Right, well... I’m afraid that I didn’t comm for a social call,” Ahsoka told him.

Rex dipped his head slightly, “I figured as much. What do you need, Commander?”

Vaguely wondering why Rex had not removed his helmet, Ahsoka said, “Lady Bo-Katan and I believe that we have information that we need to communicate with Ana— with Generals Skywalker and Kenobi. We’ve located the renegade Sith Lord, Maul, and we believe we can capture him.” 

“I’ll communicate that with Yularen immediately,” Rex replied, “They’re in battle right now, but it should be wrapping up soon.”

“And you didn’t join the fun?” Ahsoka teased.

Rex chuckled, “Oh, I did for a little while. It’s... a long story.” He called for Yularen, who walked into the view of the holoscreen a few moments later. Rex relayed the information Ahsoka had shared.

“Well, then I will comm the generals immediately,” Yularen said, “Stay on the frequency and I will call them up to the  _Resolute_ .”

Ahsoka nodded in acknowledgement and Yularen walked out of frame, although she could hear him talking to Anakin and Obi-Wan.

Rex stayed in the frame, and there was a tense silence for a few moments. She noticed that he wasn’t wearing his pauldrons— in fact, the only part of his armor that looked like his old stuff was his helmet. Still, she could only see him from his shoulders up, so she really couldn’t ascertain how much was different.

Finally, he spoke, “You grew up, kid.”

“Had to happen sometime, Rex,” Ahsoka replied with a smile. She had so many questions for him, but she felt that this was not the best place to ask them. She knew he was probably thinking that same thing.

Rex had always been a close friend. They were practically brother and sister by the time the Citadel happened. He always did his best to protect her from the horrors of war, although it was impossible to protect her from everything. Whenever they came back from a rough battle, one of them would typically seek out the other. Normally, they’d just sit together in silence, but it was always a comfortable silence, just basking in each other’s presence. 

Outside of Anakin and Obi-Wan, Rex was the one and only person that she’d told about what happened on Mortis, about how she’d been forced to Fall and then  died and then was brought back to life. He had held her as she’d cried into his shoulder about it. She’d lost him only a few weeks later. 

Yet, here he was, alive, answering her comm call. She wanted to know how he was there, how long he’d been back, what had happened to him in the first place (other than the shuttle exploding, of course).

Apparently, she thought about all of this long enough for Anakin and Obi-Wan to arrive. Tearing her thoughts away from Rex, who had at some point left the holocall, she turned and greeted them. 

The generals agreed to meet them after a quick discussion, and the comm call ended.

“Who was that?” Bo-Katan asked.

“Who was who?” 

“The clone that answered the call. You seemed to know him.”

Ahsoka had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at that, as if the whole conversation about the clone having died wasn’t enough to clue Bo-Katan in that, yeah, she  did know this clone. 

“That was Captain Rex. We were close friends for a time, almost brother and sister, but about a year and a half ago he died on a rescue op. Or, at least, we all  _thought_ he died,” She explained. 

Bo-Katan nodded. They and a few other Mandalorians boarded a ship and set out for the coordinates that Anakin had given them. 

Upon arriving at the  _Resolute_ , Ahsoka was somewhat disappointed that Rex wasn’t with Anakin and Obi-Wan to greet them (although she  was happy to see R2D2). 

After discussing the siege, Obi-Wan saying he’d have to talk to the council, and Bo-Katan storming off while saying it was a waste of time, Ahsoka accompanied Anakin to the hangar of the ship. 

She was shocked by the loyalty Echo and the rest of Torrent was showing to her by repainting their helmets to match her facial markings. It was a wonderfully sweet gesture and it reminded her of how much she cared for her men. Still, she was disappointed yet again and somewhat confused that she didn’t see Rex among them. 

Then Obi-Wan rushed in and told them that Coruscant had been invaded by Grevious and that they were needed there immediately. 

Anakin had given Ahsoka command of a new division (well, technically, it was under Echo’s command), and had given her her old lightsabers.

She rolled her eyes at him when she saw that they were now blue and he beamed at her excitedly. 

“Oh, by the way, there’s someone else here who wants to see you. He’s just... well, he’s a little nervous to see you,” Anakin told her as they began to part ways.

“Rex? He answered the comm call,” Ahsoka said, “Why would he be afraid to see me?” Truthfully, that didn’t sound like the Rex she knew at all.

“He’s probably afraid of how you’ll react when you see him. He’s... he’s changed a lot, Snips, and he’s anxious about what you’ll think, which is ridiculous, but you know Rex,” Anakin said. 

Ahsoka lifted an eyebrow marking but said nothing. 

Anakin nodded at her one last time and turned away. 

She wished him luck on his way out, and they parted ways. 

Eventually, the new division, the 332nd, was made, and they were on their way to Mandalore. She had yet to see Rex but Echo said he was on board the ship, so he had to be here  _somewhere_ .

Leaving Bo-Katan and the other Mandalorians in the mess hall after a little while, she began to explore the ship. She’d missed wandering the hallways. 

Ahsoka obviously wasn’t the only one who decided to wander about, as she ran into someone when she turned the corner and nearly tripped and fell. The other person did fall, hitting the ground with quite the metallic sounding  clang . 

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Ahsoka said as she reached to help them up. A metal hand grasped her own outstretched hand, but whoever it was seemed to be refusing to look at her or respond to her. 

Still, she helped them up, and eventually found the person to be a skinny clone trooper with metal legs and a metal arm. Once he was eye level with her, he diverted his gaze, and she caught sight of metal ports drilled into his head that were slightly obscured by curly blond hair.

She stared at him for a few moments, and then, the blond hair made it all click into place.

“Rex!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and giving him the tightest hug she could. She thought she could feel more metal through his clothing, as he wasn’t wearing his armor at the moment, but she hoped that she was imagining it. 

Rex seemed surprised by the hug, but slowly brought his arms up and returned it. 

“I’m so glad you’re— you’re alive and here, somehow, but... what  _happened_ to you?” Ahsoka asked when she finally pulled away. She studied him closely, grimacing at all the metal attachments on him. 

Rex frowned slightly, “Well, I— at the Citadel, I didn’t die when the shuttle exploded.”

“I gathered as much,” Ahsoka said, “Seeing as you’re speaking to me right now.”

Rex gave her a slight smile and chuckled lightly, “Yeah, well, the Separatists got their hands on me, and I was eventually passed on to the Techno Union. They... they used me as a science experiment. Wanted the information in my head so that they could improve their strategies against the Republic. It worked for a little while, until General Skywalker, Echo, and the Bad Batch rescued me a few weeks ago.”

Ahsoka knew that he was sugar-coating all of that and was not going into very great depth about what happened, but she knew better than to push him to reveal more than he was willing to. 

Her heart ached for her older brother as she imagined what he went through while he was missing for so long. 

“Oh, Rex,” she said, pulling him into a hug again, which he wordlessly accepted, “I’m so sorry.”

“‘S’okay, it was no worse than the time we had the Blue Shadow Virus,” Rex told her as they pulled apart again. Both of them knew that that was a lie, but neither one commented on it. 

“Are you eating enough? You’re so skinny!” Ahsoka said as they began to walk through the corridor together. 

“Believe me, I’ve gained a lot of weight since being rescued,” Rex said in a resigned tone. 

She frowned at that but didn’t say anything about it. 

“And is this all why you weren’t in the battle earlier?” She inquired after a few moments.

“Yeah, the, uh, the modifications can cause me a lot of pain sometimes and I’m still not quite in the physical shape I was in before, so they make me sit out battles every now and then,” Rex explained, “They don’t want me overtaxing myself.”

“Oh, I bet you hate that,” Ahsoka chuckled.

“Oh yeah, for sure,” Rex agreed, smiling along with her. 

She suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at him expectantly. He stopped and looked confused.

“And all of this is why you wouldn’t come find me yourself? I had to bump into you in some decrepit hallway?” She said in a slightly accusatory tone.

Rex looked sheepish and rubbed the back of his head with his good hand, “Well, I— I just didn’t know what you’d think of what happened.”

“Rex, you should know that I’d love you no matter what, and that I’d never hate you. Especially not for something like this, something that wasn’t even your fault,” Ahsoka said, “We’re brother and sister, Rex. You don’t have to be embarrassed around me. You’re not a different person just because you’ve been altered like this, especially when it was against your will.”

Rex closed his eyes, took a deep breath and nodded, “And I knew all of this, logically, but it’s just... these days, it’s hard for me to believe all of that. I spent so much time being a product, an experiment, an ‘it’ instead of a ‘he,’ that it’s just difficult for me to remember that people care about me like that, y’know? Even with the constant reminders from my brothers.” 

Ahsoka pulled him into a third hug that he more readily accepted this time around, quickly bringing his own arms up around her. 

He buried his head into her shoulder. If he began to shake and cry a little, well, that would stay between the two siblings. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gave Rex three hugs in this chapter because he needs them. He’s doing better overall but he’s still definitely struggling to cope with everything. 
> 
> I’m so excited to finally bring Ahsoka in! This was another chapter that sparked the whole au, and I’ve been waiting so long to bring her into the fold. I feel like I didn’t quite get her character right but I think as I write her more, she’ll come to me easier. 
> 
> Originally I had the very angsty idea of him answering the call without his helmet and her not recognizing him because of the implants but I made myself sad and decided against it. I spared you all some extra pain :)
> 
> Sidenote, but listening to the song Ahsoka Lives from the Mandalorian soundtrack realllly helped motivate me to finally write this. I know it hasn’t been too long since the last update, but I’m also getting excited for where the story’s going so I want to update it faster. School isn’t too bad right now, thankfully, so I’m able to write more. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! You can find me on tumblr at ameanstoanendor, as always!


	8. Retrogression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse and Rex are taken captive by Maul during the Siege of Mandalore.

Rex and Ahsoka stayed by each other’s side for the rest of the trip to Mandalore, catching up with each other and enjoying the other’s presence. They eventually found themselves in the mess hall and sat down together, the cacophony of familiar voices bringing comfort to both of them and easing their frazzled nerves. Ahsoka forced Rex to eat a meal and made sure that he ate every single bite. 

Eventually, of course, the pair had to split up so that the siege could begin. Rex would work in tandem with Jesse for the majority of it, Echo going with Ahsoka, Hardcase taking his own group, and Captain Vaughn yet another. 

The battle began swiftly and was rather intense. Maul’s Crimson Dawn fought fiercely and relentlessly to achieve their goals and maintain their hold on Sundari. 

“I hope Maul’s actually here,” Rex told Jesse during a brief reprieve from the fighting, “If he isn’t, then all of this plays right into his hands.”

The pair sat down on the ground as they spoke, enjoying the rest while it lasted. The two looked out at the chaos of the city. There were small fires everywhere, small plumes of smoke rising and collecting in the curves of its domed roof.

“Tell me about it. Not to mention all the treaties we’re breaking by doing this,” Jesse replied with a loud sigh, “Not to sound like a deserter, but sometimes I wish I could get away from all of this war and just live a quiet life. Seems like the fighting will never be over.”

Rex chuckled and laid his metal hand on Jesse’s soldier, “One of the bravest men I’ve ever met was a deserter, actually. There’s nothing wrong with wanting out. It’d just be nice for us to fight over a war over something we have a choice about.” 

Jesse lifted an eyebrow and turned towards him, “You met a deserter once?”

Rex removed his hand from his shoulder and shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips. 

Jesse looked like he wanted to ask more, but his comm beeped at that moment. He suppressed a sigh and answered, “Jesse.”

“The commander and I lost Maul somewhere in the Undercity. Can your group move to reinforce the entry port on C-deck to ensure he doesn’t escape?” Came Echo’s voice.

“Right away, captain, er, commander,” Jesse replied. Echo muttered something in annoyance as he flipped off his comm and stood up, Rex standing up by his side.

Turning to face his men, Jesse called out, “Alright, boys, we’re on the move again. We’ve got to reinforce the entry-port on C-deck.” 

The men called out, “Sir, yes, sir!” And the group began to make their way to C-deck. Jesse and Rex walked side-by-side, the rest of the troops falling in line behind them. 

Eventually, they found themselves in the Undercity. 

“Yuck, it reeks down here,” muttered a trooper from behind.

“No worse than your socks, Sterling,” said another in a teasing tone.

“Oh, that’s just rude, Rascal,” replied Sterling. Jesse and Rex looked at each other, and even through their helmets they knew that the other was rolling their eyes. 

“Quiet, shinies, and be on alert,” Rex called back. The pair shut up quickly and their walk continued in relative silence, save for the metallic clank of Rex’s feet and the rustle of their armor. 

“I don’t like this,” Jesse muttered to Rex as they continued on, “It’s too quiet.”

Rex opened his mouth to reply when there the sound blaster fire came out of nowhere and they heard a scream from a brother.

“Guns out, men, be ready!” Jesse called. He and Rex grabbed their pistols and stood back-to-back, wary of the unseen threat. The rest of the troops took up similar positions. 

There was no movement for a few moments and some of the troops began to relax when suddenly, they heard the unmistakable sound of a lightsaber being ignited. The red Zabrak came out of nowhere and began cutting down brother after brother. Crimson Dawn members appeared, too, and thus began a frenzied fight for their lives. 

Maul’s disconcerting glare landed upon Jesse and Rex, who had taken down many of the Mandalorians and were holding their own rather well. Still, they were being overwhelmed and knew that this may be the end. Eventually, they were the last 2 standing, and one of the Mandalorians aimed their gun at them while they were busied with another pair of belligerents. 

A sinister voice cut through the fight, “Stop! I want those two alive. Only stun them.”

Rex and Jesse didn’t have time to react before they were hit with twin stun blasts and darkness overtook them. 

When Rex awoke, he noted that his helmet and top half of his armor had been removed. His hands had been bound together in front of him, and he was propped up against the wall. Jesse was waking up to his left. 

“Ah, finally. Bring them here, would you?” Came the sinister voice yet again. Two Mandalorians approached the two of them and roughly hauled them to a standing position. They brought them before Maul and held onto them as Maul turned back towards them. 

The Sith studied them intently, eyes running over Jesse’s body and then Rex’s, obviously taking stock of all the metal attachments. 

“And what have we here?” the Zabrak asked, circling Jesse and Rex slowly and watching them with a predatory gaze, “Why would the Republic put so much effort into saving one measly clone’s life? One who was obviously so gravely injured? Are you not all... expendable?”

Jesse snarled at Rex’s side. Rex shot Maul a venomous glare and struggled against the binds on his wrists and the Mandalorian’s grip on his arms but did not deign him with an answer. 

“Ah,” Maul said, nodding to himself, “The  _Separatists_ did that to you, then.” Maul stopped his circling and stood in front of the two soldiers, regarding them both with a sneer. Rex stiffened minutely and then mentally cursed himself. Someone like Maul would  _certainly_ notice a moment of weakness like that. 

“Oh, not to worry,” Maul said, “I will not turn you over to them again. What I want from the pair of you is information.”

“Then why keep both of us alive?” Rex challenged boldly. 

“Well, I know one or both of you must have the information I seek. The way you held yourselves in that battle told me that you must be older than the other clones you were with,” Maul reasoned, “I  _could_ have killed one of you, yes, but I admit, my curiosity  _did_ get the better of me.” He set his predatory gaze upon Rex again. Rex glared back without fear. 

“Well, you’re wasting your time. We won’t tell you anything,” Jesse growled, struggling against his captors. 

“How charming that you actually believe that statement to be true,” Maul said in a condescending tone, facing away from the clones. 

“Clones... bred for combat, all part of the plan,” Maul muttered, “Not even I was made aware of its grand design, but I played my part, and you know what happened?” Rex and Jesse exchanged glances. Both could tell the other was slightly nervous, but only because they had known each other for quite some time.

Maul let out humorless laugh and continued, “I was cast aside. I was forgotten... oh, but I can thrive in the chaos that is to come.” 

He whirled around and faced one of the Mandalorians standing the room, “Saxon, information is a valuable commodity. See to it that Almec does not become an asset to our enemy.” Saxon nodded in affirmative and left the room.

Maul turned his attention back towards the brothers, “Now, I believe the two of you owe me some information.”

“We won’t be telling you anything,” Rex snarled, Jesse nodding in agreement.

“Oh, but I believe you will,” Maul approached Jesse, holding his hand up, “Your minds will  _speak_ , or they will  _break_ . Tell me... who is this...  _Ahsoka Tano_ ?”

He placed his hand on Jesse’s head, and Jesse began to scream in pain. Rex struggled harder against his captor, who only gripped him tighter. Rex mentally cursed his diminished muscle mass but did not waver in his struggles.

Eventually, Jesse’s screams died out, and his brother slumped to the ground. The Mandalorian holding him kicked him and dragged him back over to the wall. He winced and curled in on himself, holding his hands to his head. 

“Interesting, very interesting. I do believe I have most of the information I need, but... I believe you might have some additional information,  _Captain Rex_ ,” Maul said with a cold smile, “I did some research on you while I was in his mind as well.  _Very_ enlightening. You and Lady Tano were close before the explosion at the Citadel and your presumed death.”

Rex held his head high and glared at Maul defiantly. Still, his heart rate quickened and his palm started sweating because  _oh, no, Maul’s going to pick into my mind just like they did on Skako Minor._

As though reading his thoughts, ( _which he probably did_ , thought the back part of Rex’s mind), Maul bared his dirty teeth at him, “Yes, I believe that this will be  _very_ enlightening indeed.”

Just as he did with Jesse, the Sith rose his hand and placed it on Rex’s head, grazing against some of the ports.

At first, he felt nothing, but then he felt  _so much pain._

Memories flashed to the forefront of his mind. 

‘ _In my book, experience outranks everything,’_

_‘Well, then, I’d better get some experience!’_

_He is on Naboo in the secret vault of some crazy scientist. He is sick, and so is the commander, who he swore to protect at all costs. She collapses into his arms, her own sickness finally having overtaken her. He does not think that any of them have much time left._

_He is on Geonosis, again, and he’s just been thrown off a 100-foot wall by the general and the commander and he’s falling to his death like so many of his brothers had before him. Hescreams as he nears the ground and closes his eyes so that he won’t see the impact, but then he’s caught by nothing. Anakin and Ahsoka are teasing him and they’re on their way like nothing happened._

_He is on Saleucami, injured but in one piece, and he’s talking to a deserter who makes him rethink his whole view on the war and shakes up his whole reality._

_He is sitting in his quarters in the Resolute, holding Ahsoka as she cries into his shoulder about a planet called Mortis, her forced fall to the dark side, and her literal death and subsequent resurrection. He doesn’t know how to comfort her, but she assures him that just his presence is enough._

_He is at the Citadel. The shuttle is about to be blown up, and Echo is running to defend it. He pushes Echo out of the way, grabs the shield on the ground, and defends it himself, not wanting his younger brother to get caught in any of the crossfire from the Separatist’s weapons. The shuttle explodes and he is consumed in flames and blown apart._

_His helmet is blown off of his head. He is somewhere on the ground and at first he doesn’t feel any pain. Everything is numb. He thinks that he hears people calling his name, but their calls fade away._

_He is alone._

_He feels the pain, now, and realizes that his right arm and leg are gone, and his left leg isn’t looking much better. He does not attempt to escape when the Separatist droids pick him up and carry him away._

_He is on Skako Minor. They are drilling into his brain. They are attaching metal to his sternum and spine. They do not give him anything to numb the pain and he cannot seem to be able to blackout. He does not know why they bother giving him prosthetic limbs, seeing as they’re just going to lock him into a cryopod, but he cannot articulate any questions, anyways._

_He is CT-7567. He is an_ it . 

_It is CT-7567. It is an asset to the Separatist cause. It does not have a name._

_It is fed a Republic strategy. It provides a counter-strategy._

_Occasionally, it is taken from its pod and is prodded with needles and cut into some more. The pain never fades._

_Occasionally, it sees a clone trooper. It knows that it is hallucinating, but it can’t help but wish that the clone_ was _real._

_One day, it sees a clone trooper yet again. This time, however, the clone isn’t a hallucination, and CT-7567 is finally a he, finally_ Rex _again_. 

Maul took his hand off of Rex’s head and let Rex drop to the ground. The pain in his head subsided. He breathed heavily and realized that tears had been streaming down his face. 

“Interesting,” Maul muttered, “Well, I suppose that satisfies my curiosity about you, Captain.”

Rex was dragged over to Jesse, who seemed to be doing minutely better, although his facial expressions switched between guilt and concern. 

“Rex, are you okay?” Jesse whispered as Maul began giving a dramatic speech to his followers.

Rex wanted to reply, he did, but he couldn’t articulate any words. His mind had been violated,  _again_ , in the same horrific way as before.

He merely let a out a slight whimper in response to Jesse’s question. Jesse shifted so that he was touching Rex, who leaned into him. 

Rex was vaguely aware of being led towards the Royal Palace, Jesse standing by his side protectively. He was silent as he and Jesse were sat to the side of Maul’s chair and he wasn’t listening when Ahsoka, Echo, and Bo-Katan entered. 

He was barely paying attention or aware of the fact that he and Jesse were released and ushered back towards Echo, didn’t speak when Jesse told Echo a little of what happened and didn’t argue when Echo told him that he’d be going back to their ship. 

Rex didn’t even try to argue with the medic aboard the ship, Coric, not Kix, as he ushered him to a bed and brought him some food and water.

After what Maul did to him, Rex simply couldn’t stop feeling like an ‘it’ again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, by far, my favorite chapter I’ve written for this. I also forgot how much I loved this AU because I got so caught up in What Died Didn’t Stay Dead
> 
> Also I’m pretty sure Jesse was actually with Captain Vaughn during this (if memory serves correct) but since Rex is around, he just kinda takes Vaughn’s place and hey, Vaughn lives now!
> 
> Not much else to say for this chapter! I just hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> I’m on tumblr at ameanstoanendor if you want to hit me up there!


	9. Renaissance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rex breaks apart and is put back together, but just as things are looking up, the entire galaxy is sent into an uproar.

Echo could hardly wait for this siege to be over with. He didn’t particularly care for Bo-Katan and her sect of Mandalorians, nor did he care who controlled Mandalore; that wasn’t his problem to worry about. All he cared about was capturing Maul, and he had faith that Ahsoka could subdue him. She’d become an incredibly skilled warrior over the course of the war, and he knew her skills would keep her alive long enough for them to swoop in to give a last minute assist if need be.

However, what Echo was more concerned about than Mandalore’s tumultuous power-struggle at the moment was Rex. He had been unresponsive when Maul had returned him and Jesse, shaking slightly and not acknowledging anything Echo or Jesse said to him. Then Jesse had told him what Maul had done to the two of them, and it all made sense to Echo. 

It had only been a few weeks since Rex had been rescued, since his mind had been returned to him, and Echo was certain that he’d had his fill of mental invasions like what Maul had done. The memories Maul dug up probably did not help him at all. Jesse told him that he’d captured Rex mainly because he was curious about him, like he was a specimen in an experiment, and Echo could only imagine what had happened to Rex when he  _had_ been an experiment. It was safe to assume that those were some of the memories Maul looked at. 

So, yes, Echo was a little impatient for the battle to end. Jesse had been shaken up, too, and he’d sent him up with Rex, seeing as he wasn’t in much of a fighting condition, either. Echo didn’t think that Rex was even aware that Jesse was still with him. 

He only hoped that Rex was doing better now that he was removed from battle and in the medbay.

——————

Rex was most certainly  _not_ doing any better than he had been immediately after Maul had invaded their minds. He hadn’t even reacted to Jesse sitting at his bedside. 

Jesse had gone and showered before returning to Rex in order to collect himself in private. That one invasion of his mind had shaken him up terribly; he couldn’t imagine what Rex must’ve gone through for months before being found. It made Jesse sick to his stomach. 

He didn’t really know what else to do other than to sit by Rex. The blond captain was almost completely unresponsive to what was going on around him. Coric had gently placed a small glass of water in his hands, which Rex had taken automatically, only giving the medic a small nod in acknowledgement. Coric and Jesse exchanged worried looks with each other before Coric moved on to other patients. 

Rex had always been a source of inspiration and strength to Jesse. He’d always (somewhat stubbornly) gotten back up after everything that pushed him down and he’d always been in control of his emotions. This encounter with Maul, however, had shaken his captain up in a way that Jesse had never seen. Something in his heart shattered at seeing someone so strong in such a broken state.

After a few minutes filled with silence only broken by Rex occasionally sipping his water, Jesse sighed heavily and grabbed the blond’s metal cybernetic hand. Rex started, looking down at his hand and then to Jesse. 

The blond cleared his throat loudly and asked, “What?” His voice was raspy and gravely, and even he winced at how it sounded. He schooled his expression into one that was calm and collected. It seemed he was finally aware of himself and his surroundings.

Jesse raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him, “You’re not doing very well, are you, sir?”

Rex huffed and set his water down on the table next to his bed before pulling his hand out of Jesse’s grasp, crossing his arms across his chest and replying, “I’m  _fine._ ”

“All due respect, sir, but you clearly aren’t, and that’s okay,” Jesse replied, mirroring him and crossing his own arms across his chest. Oh, so Rex was going to play it off like nothing had happened and he  _hadn’t_ just been trapped in his own mind for a good hour or more? Not on Jesse’s watch. 

Rex averted his eyes from Jesse’s concerned gaze and sighed heavily. His expression crumbled, Jesse’s momentary anger at Rex’s apparent aversion to dealing with his issues dissipating along with it. Rex buried his face in his hands, eyes squeezed shut.

“I’m fine,” he whispered, more to himself than to Jesse. Jesse watched helplessly as his older brother’s shoulders shook for a few moments, before he pulled his face out of his hands. His eyes were rimmed red, and he looked absolutely broken. He let out a long sigh before shaking his head helplessly and closing his eyes again.

“I don’t think I’m fine, Jess,” He whispered, words catching in his throat. Jesse gently grasped his cybernetic hand again, holding it in between both of his hands and giving it a slight squeeze. 

“I’m here for you. You can talk about it, you can fall apart, you can do whatever you need to. I’m here for you, and I’m not leaving you.”

Rex nodded at him and turned his gaze to the blanket that was draped across his metal legs. He began picking at the threads with his free hand and stayed silent for a few more minutes.

Secretly, Jesse had hoped Rex would choose to talk about it, but he wasn’t going to force him to do anything he was uncomfortable with. Just as he was losing hope, Rex inhaled quietly and looked Jesse square in the eye, sorrow and slight fear written across his features. 

“Back on Skako Minor,” He began, clearing his throat and speaking so quietly that Jesse had to strain his ears to hear him, “I lost all sense of who I was. They stripped me of  everything . My identity, my name, my personality, my freedom. I wasn’t Rex, I was CT-7567. I... I wasn’t a ‘he,’ anymore. I was an ‘it.’

“Ever since being rescued, I’ve been myself again, I’ve been a ‘he...’ until that encounter with Maul,” he took a shaky breath and looked back at his blanket, “I feel like an ‘it’ again, Jess, and I don’t know what to do about it. I hate feeling so... so weak, so helpless.”

He shook his head and closed his eyes, taking slow and deliberate breaths to calm himself.

Jesse gently squeezed his hand again, causing Rex to look at him. Force, he looked exhausted. Jesse was suddenly reminded of how young he and all the other clones were, and he felt a sense of anger; none of them should look so world-weary, not when they had barely even lived. 

Jesse buried those thoughts and focused his mind on his older brother sitting in front of him, who was lost and needed to be found again. His older brother, who had been tortured and irrevocably altered, who had been stripped of everything that made him unique, whose roaring flames had finally been beaten into mere smoldering cinders. No, that last part couldn’t be true, not if Jesse had anything to say about it. 

“Rex,” Jesse said gently, grabbing his other hand and looking him directly in the eye, “That is karking  _awful_.”

The bluntness of the statement startled a laugh out of Rex, and Jesse gave him a lopsided smile.

“It’s the truth, sir; I’m not even going to try to sugarcoat it,” Jesse said matter-of-factly, “But Rex, I know I hardly need to remind you that you’re not on Skako Minor anymore and that you are wholly and wonderfully  _unique_ and that you are your own person.”

Rex let out another laugh, this time utterly humorless in its inflection, “I know that. I... gah, I  _know_. Why can’t I seem to remember that?”

He looked at Jesse with unbridled sadness and confusion in his eyes, tears beginning to leak from the corners. His voice cracked as he spoke, “Jess... how could they do this to me? How could they do this to any living being? In what universe is this justifiable?”

Jesse let go of his hands and pulled him into a hug. Rex held onto him tightly and buried his face into his neck. Jesse gently rubbed his back, heart breaking for at least the third time in this entire exchange. He could feel Rex’s shoulders shudder slightly as he quietly cried, and held him tighter in reassurance.

“I don’t know, sir, I don’t know,” Jesse whispered, “But I  _do_ know you.”

Rex pulled away and gazed at him in confusion, eyebrows furrowed together.

“I know that you are the strongest man I’ve ever met. I know that you have inspired countless troops, not just the 501st, with all that you have accomplished, and that even your supposed demise didn’t stop you from inspiring troopers everywhere,” Jesse continued, “And I know that you’ve always pulled through everything that’s been thrown at you.

“It may seem impossible right now, sir, but you’re going to get through this, too. Just you wait and see,” Jesse told him, “What happened to you is horrible and unjust, and it never should’ve happened in the first place. But it did, and you’ll have to live with that. It hasn’t been easy, and I don’t think it ever will be, but I know you’ll get through it, just like you always have. And we— all of your brothers— we’ll be with you every step of the way. You don’t have to be alone in this.”

Rex closed his eyes and nodded, wiping at some of the tear tracks that streaked his face. He sniffled and opened his mouth to speak, but Jesse cut him off.

“Don’t even _think_ about apologizing for crying, sir. There’s nothing to apologize for,” He said shortly. Rex chuckled and nodded slowly. 

Jesse gave him another hug and the two settled into an easy conversation after that. Coric came over at some point and gave them both more water and ration bars. He nodded at Jesse and gave him an appreciative smile before continuing on his rounds. 

Kix came in not long afterwards. He exchanged words with Coric for a few moments before heading over to where Rex and Jesse were sitting, looking between the two of them worriedly.

“Battle’s over and Commander Tano’s captured Maul. The rest of the troops’ll be coming up pretty soon,” The medic reported, “And then we’ll go off to Coruscant, most likely. Are you two doing alright?”

“Better now, thanks,” Rex answered. Kix looked at Jesse for confirmation, nodding to himself when Jesse nodded in affirmative to Rex’s claim. 

“I’d let you go now, but Echo’s worried sick about you and I think it’d be easiest if you waited here for him so that he could find you quicker. As soon as he’s up here, though, you’re free to leave,” Kix said, “If you need anything, let me know.”

He turned to leave, but Rex called out to him. 

“A hug would be nice, you know,” Rex said, grinning mischievously at him.

Kix sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically before coming over and enveloping Rex in a hug. Jesse grinned at Kix, who scowled at him in return.

“Hugs really do help,” Kix insisted when he pulled away. Jesse nodded at him patronizingly, causing him to huff and turn away. Jesse and Rex grinned at each other and settled into a comfortable silence.

——————

It would be another hour before Echo would finally be able to make his way to the medbay. In that time, Rex had taken it upon himself to sneak in a nap, Jesse doing the same in the chair by his bedside. Who knew how exhausting breaking down like that could be?

Rex woke up just before Echo came in, as if on instinct, and chuckled to himself when he saw that Jesse was still out cold, mouth hanging open just slightly. 

Echo seemed relieved to see him, jogging over to him and coming to a stop at the foot of his bed. Rex stretched his arms and back out, ignoring the odd sensation of metal crackling along his spine. 

“Glad to see you feeling more yourself, Captain,” Echo said as Rex swung his legs over the bed and stood up. Jesse stirred upon hearing Rex’s metallic feet hit the ground with a soft  _clang_. 

“Yeah, Jesse certainly helped,” Rex said. Jesse fully awoke upon hearing his name and yawned, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he did so. 

“Good,” Echo said, nodding to himself, “Good. We’re getting ready to head out to Coruscant.”

Rex stood to walk beside him as Jesse got out of his own chair and stretched.

“I’m gonna go find Hardcase and antagonize him,” he announced, “You good with Echo?” Rex nodded, and he headed out.

Rex and Echo nodded at Kix as they left the medbay and headed for the bridge of the ship.

“You  _are_ doing better, right?” Echo asked, looking Rex up and down worriedly.

Rex rolled his eyes dramatically, “Yes. Jesse really did help.”

“Glad to hear it,” Echo said, shoulders visibly relaxing, “No offense, Captain, but you were in really rough shape when we got you back from Maul.”

“Yeah, yeah, Jesse already told me,” Rex said with a huff, “Maul just... brought up some unpleasant memories. Made me feel like I wasn’t human again.”

Echo looked at him empathetically and clapped a hand onto his shoulder, “I figured as much. If it makes you feel any better, we captured him and he’s not escaping anytime soon.”

“That does make me feel better, actually,” Rex said. He then muttered, “I hope someone’s taken care of Wat Tambor by now, though.”

Echo barked a laugh at that and nodded, “Yeah, you and me both, Rex.”

Rex laughed shakily along with him before it turned into a real laugh. They stopped in the hallway and continued laughing with each other until their sides hurt. There wasn’t anything particularly funny about what they’d been talking about, but they were both exhausted and laughing felt so good and  _normal_. 

Eventually, their laughter died down, and they looked at each other and smiled. Rex felt infinitely better.

“Someone better tell Kix that laughs work as a medicine as well as hugs,” Rex commented as they continued on their way to the bridge. 

Echo chuckled, “He’d better stick to hugs, I think. His puns always seem to fall flat.”

Rex smirked and nodded in agreement, “Yeah. He tries, though. He loves his medical puns.”

“Yeah. Too much for his own good sometimes, I think,” Echo commented, grinning. 

The pair entered the bridge, smiling and laughing at what the other said. They stood beside Ahsoka, who seemed to be glad that Rex was walking with Echo and was in such a good mood.

The three of them stood side by side, Ahsoka in between the two clones, gazing out of the viewport as the ship entered hyperspace. 

Not long afterwards, Ahsoka furrowed her brows and looked to the ground, a motion Rex caught sight of.

“Something on your mind?” Rex asked. She looked up at him and smiled slightly before turning to look out at the vibrant blue streaks of hyperspace.

“As a Jedi, we were taught to be keepers of the peace... but ever since I was a padawan, I’ve been a soldier,” She said contemplatively. 

“Well... I’ve known no other way,” Rex told her.

“Gives us clones all a mixed feeling about the war,” Echo chimed in from her other side.

Rex nodded in agreement, “Many people wish it never happened, but without it... We clones wouldn’t exist.”

Ahsoka smiled at the two of them, “Well, then perhaps some good did come of this war. The Republic couldn’t have asked for better soldiers, nor I better friends.”

She saluted, beaming up at them. They returned the salute and were lowering their hands when a bridge crew member called Echo into the meeting room for a briefing.

Ahsoka and Rex stayed in the bridge while Echo went to answer it.

Suddenly Ahsoka gasped and stumbled, holding her hand to her head. Rex reached out to steady her, looking over her worriedly.

“Commander?” He asked nervously, not entirely sure what was happening.

“Anakin,” she whispered, “Something’s wrong with Anakin. I feel like something terrible has happened.” She looked up at him with eyes wide with fear. 

Rex furrowed his brows, “Maybe we should comm him? Echo’s briefing is probably almost over.” She nodded in agreement, taking shaky breaths as they walked into the meeting room.

Echo was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the comm, which was turned off, with a dazed expression. Rex and Ahsoka slowed to a stop when he didn’t acknowledge their entry. 

After a few moments of tense silence, he turned to meet them and lifted his brow, “Rex, what’s Order 66?”

“What?” Rex asked, “I don’t know.”

“The briefing wasn’t a briefing at all,” Echo told him, eyes flickering to the shaking togruta at his side, “Some guy in a dark cloak called. All he said was ‘Execute Order 66.’ I just said ‘yes, sir,’ and hung up. I have no clue what Order 66 is.”

“That timing can’t be coincidental with what Ahsoka felt. Something’s happened with General Skywalker,” Rex replied, “We need to figure out what’s going on, and fast.”

“The Force feels heavy and... and dark. Lights are flickering out everywhere,” Ahsoka said, eyes wide and terror written across her features, “Jedi are being slaughtered, galaxy-wide. All at the same time.”

Rex was about to open his mouth to respond when his comm beeped. He rose his eyebrow when he saw the caller ID.

“It’s Hunter from the Bad Batch,” He reported, answering the call and holding the comm up so that Ahsoka and Echo could see.

“Rex? Are you yourself?” Hunter asked, expression distressed.

“Yes? Why wouldn’t I be?” Rex asked, furrowing his eyebrows together in confusion.

“What’s wrong with all the regs? What’s Order 66?” Hunter really did sound distraught, which set Rex on edge. If  _Hunter_ was upset, then something must be very,  _very_ wrong. 

“We’re trying to figure out what Order 66 is, too,” Rex said, keeping his voice calm and steady, as though he was talking to a shiny after their first battle had left them shaken.

“What do you mean ‘what’s wrong with all the regs?’” Echo interjected, nervousness evident in his tone, not trying to conceal it at all like Rex had. 

Jesse and Hardcase burst in at that moment, eyes wild. Both were breathing heavily, like they had run the entire way to the bridge.

“Some of the shinies just went berserk!” Hardcase exclaimed breathlessly.

“They kept saying ‘good soldiers follow orders’ like... like Tup did on Ringo Vinda,” Jesse continued, voice shaking slightly.

“We stunned them and Kix and Coric are looking them over in the medbay right now,” Hardcase finished. 

Rex nodded at them calmly, ironically (to himself, at least, considering the breakdown he’d had earlier) the only one in the room who had maintained his composure. He turned his attention back towards his comm.

“Hunter,” he said calmly, “What did the regs do?”

“They were saying the same thing your men just talked about, ‘good soldiers follow orders,’” Hunter replied, “Rex... they’ve _killed_ the Jedi we were with.”

Rex and Echo snapped their heads towards each other immediately, their eyes wide with horror as realization dawned upon their features. Hardcase swore loudly from across the room and Jesse buried his face in his hands.

“ _Kriff_ ,” Echo whispered, mouth parted in shock as Ahsoka looked at them all in confusion, the only one of the four of them who was out of the loop.

“Rex? What’s going on? What happened?” Hunter asked. 

“Yeah... What do you guys know?” Ahsoka chimed in.

Hunter caught sight of her and seemed relieved as he muttered, “At least they didn’t kill their Jedi.”

Rex sighed heavily and ran his free hand down his face nervously before shaking his head and sighing again.

“Fives was right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> And there it is, folks! The last chapter of this part of the Mars AU! It was somewhat of a cliffhanger (ish? Sort of?) and I’m not even sorry. Never fear— the next part of the story will pick up where this left off!
> 
> Also, all those bits about Kix and hugs was me shamelessly referencing my story Golden Heart, which is about Cadet Kix doing his best as a little medic. 
> 
> But yeah! Super excited to get this out to you guys and I can’t wait for the next part to begin. There are twists and turns planned for our favorite clones, for sure!
> 
> Hit me up on tumblr at ameanstoanendor! Really hope you enjoyed this chapter!


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